RACI & Role Clarity: Who Owns What and Why It Fails

Processes break down not because they are poorly designed but because no one is clearly accountable.

In many organizations, tasks are “handled,” controls are “assumed,” and approvals are “implied.” The result is duplication, delays and control failures. RACI mapping brings precision to execution by answering four simple questions for every step:

• Who is Responsible for doing it?
• Who is Accountable for the outcome?
• Who must be Consulted?
• Who should be Informed?

RACI transforms process maps from activity charts into governance tools.

What RACI Adds to Process Maps

When RACI is layered onto a process map, each step becomes owned and each control becomes enforceable.

Common Failure Patterns Without RACI

1. Two teams assume the other is performing a control
2. Approvals happen, but no one is accountable for quality
3. Workarounds emerge because “it’s faster this way”
4. Controls exist on paper but have no operational owner
5. Auditors cannot identify who to test or interview

These failures are rarely technical, they are structural.

Real Case Snapshot – The Approval That Everyone Assumed

Background (Simplified)

A professional services firm was facing repeated issues with delayed billing and revenue leakage. Projects were being completed, but invoices were either raised late, disputed by clients or in some cases, not raised at all. Management initially believed this was a system or workload issue.

What Was Found

However, when asked who was responsible for approving billable work before invoicing, different teams gave different answers. Process mapping revealed that:

• Project teams assumed Finance would validate and approve billable hours.
• Finance assumed Project Managers had already reviewed and approved them.
• Operations believed Account Directors owned the final sign-off.

There was a policy that said “manager approval is required,” but it did not specify which manager, at what stage or how the approval should happen. In practice, no one was truly accountable. Invoices were delayed, disputed or never raised.

What Changed
The firm overlaid RACI on its Order-to-Cash map:

“Approve billable hours” →

R: Project Manager

A: Account Director

C: Finance

  I: Operations

Each control step had a named owner, deadline and escalation path.

Outcome

• Billing cycle time reduced by 40%
• Revenue leakage eliminated
• Audit findings dropped to zero
• Teams stopped duplicating checks

Key Lessons (Simplified)

This case showed that controls do not fail because they are poorly designed, they fail because ownership is unclear.

When roles are not clearly defined:

• Tasks are delayed because everyone assumes someone else will act.
• Controls exist “on paper” but are not performed in practice.
• Errors and losses go unnoticed because no one feels responsible.
• Problems repeat, even after policies are updated.

By applying RACI, the firm transformed vague expectations into clear accountability:

• Every step had a named owner.
• Every control had someone responsible for performing it.
• Every outcome had one person accountable for its success.

The result was faster billing, no revenue leakage and zero audit findings.

The core lesson is simple:

A control only works when someone clearly owns it.

RACI turns “someone should do this” into “this person must do this.”

NEXT WEEK – Week 5: Control Design – Embedding Prevention & Detection into Process

We move from who owns the step to how the step protects the business.

Next week, we’ll show how to place preventive and detective controls at the right point in the workflow, so risk is stopped, not just reported.