RACI matrix

What it means

A RACI matrix assigns four roles to each step of a process: who does the work (Responsible), who owns and approves it (Accountable), who is Consulted, and who is Informed.

The rule is that there is exactly one Accountable per step. Two accountable people means none in practice - the commonest reason a task never gets done.

RACI is not an organisation chart: it says nothing about who reports to whom, only who does what at a given step. It differs from an escalation matrix in describing the normal course of work, while the escalation matrix says whom to turn to when a step stalls or the parties cannot agree.

How it works in practice

In accounting it pays off at the steps where two sides meet: approving an invoice before payment, handing over payroll inputs, signing off the closing. It grows out of the process map and complements the SOPs.

Doing it for the whole company at once is pointless. Three to five key processes clear up most misunderstandings; the rest is added when there is a reason.

When we take over an agenda we agree it with the client: the company supplies documents, we do the bookkeeping and returns, the director approves the tax payment and the member is informed of the result. Written down in one table, it replaces dozens of e-mails about who was meant to send what, and by when.

What to watch out for

A matrix that never reaches the workflow or the system stays a slide. And if everyone ends up Consulted, the process slows more than it gains - only people without whom the step cannot be done right belong there.

A matrix written with names goes stale with the first departure. Roles should be named by function, such as payroll accountant or director, with names assigned to them separately; otherwise after someone’s offboarding a step is left with no one doing it, and nobody notices until a deadline is missed.