Signing authority

Who can sign, who can approve a payment.

In a small foreign company, authority may sit with whoever set it up. That works until that person is away or a bank asks who else can act. The decision here is how to split signing and payment approval across people, with limits and a backup, in a form that your bank, accountant and counterparties can follow.

SignersPayment limitsBackupRecord
The question behind the question

Who is allowed to bind the company, and who is allowed to move its money, are two different answers

Contracts and payments can be treated together, yet they carry different risks. A person may sensibly sign routine agreements but not release large transfers alone, or the reverse. The operational plan separates the two, assigns each to named people and writes down what happens when one is missing.

What a director or officer may do under the company's constitution and local law is for a local professional to confirm. The plan works within what they confirm.

Arrangements for signing and approving

Arrangements for signing and approving

One person does everything

Works when: One owner, low volume. Weakness: If that person is unavailable, nothing can move; single point of failure and no second view.

Two roles: signer and approver

Works when: Regular payments, a bookkeeper or assistant involved. Weakness: Needs both to be reachable; the approval must be genuine, not a click-through.

Tiered limits

Works when: Mixed small and large payments. Weakness: Needs a written limit table and a bank setup that supports it.

Local co-signer with owner override

Works when: Owner lives elsewhere. Weakness: Defining the override clearly so authority is not duplicated or contradictory.

What the written plan contains

What the written plan contains

Authority table

Each type of action, such as contracts, payments, hires, filings, with who may do it and any limit.

Backup rule

Who acts when the usual person is away, for how long and how it is recorded.

Evidence rule

How an approval is shown afterwards: email, signed note or system record.

Review point

When the table is reviewed, and what triggers an earlier review, such as a new bank or a new hire.

Two small companies, two approval problems

Two small companies, two approval problems

A two-person founding team, one abroad

The risk is mutual dependence. The plan decides what each can do alone and what needs both.

A company with an outsourced bookkeeper

The bookkeeper prepares payments but should not release them; the plan fixes who does, and how it is shown.

An owner handing day-to-day running to a manager

The plan sets the manager's authority, and what stays with the owner.

Bank mandates and provider permissions are set up with the provider; the plan states what you want them to say.

The service

Operational Setup Assessment

Who it is for
Owners of a foreign company who need to know how to run it day to day
The problem it solves
Roles, signing authority, records and handovers are unclear, so operations depend on one person
What we need from you
  • entity and country
  • who does what today
  • existing tools and providers
How it works
  • intake questions
  • LATYNEX maps roles and routines
  • written plan
What you receive
A written operational plan for roles, signing authority, records and routine tasks of the entity
Included
  • roles and signing authority
  • records and retention routine
  • calendar of recurring tasks
  • handover notes
Not included
  • software development or automation (Digital)
  • accounting or filing services
  • legal advice
Timing
Confirmed when your request is accepted.
What LATYNEX does
  • map roles and routines
  • write the plan
  • refer automation to Digital where it applies
Price
Confirmed when your request is accepted.
Good to know

What this is, and isn't

This is business and structuring analysis, not legal, tax or investment advice. Where a legal or tax opinion is needed, we say so and point you to a licensed adviser.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does this change who is a director?+

No. Directors and officers are legal roles set by the company and local law. This plan covers day-to-day signing and approval within them.

Can you set up the bank mandate?+

No. We write what the mandate should reflect; the account holder instructs the bank.

Is this a legal opinion on authority?+

No. Questions on what a role may legally do go to a licensed local professional.

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