Authority

Authority Gaps Surface Late

A lender asks who authorized a loan. An auditor demands proof the signer had authority to bind the company. Most organizations can’t answer with confidence.

Signing authority records live in a shared drive. The power of attorney expired six months ago but still shows active. No one knows whether the CFO’s delegation to the controller was ever documented. Lextree creates a structured record of who holds authority for each entity — appointment, scope, and expiration — so the answer exists before anyone asks.

Prove Who Holds Authority

Officers, managing members, and general partners carry legal weight, and documenting who holds each position is not optional. Each management appointment records hire date, service period, and departure with full history preserved. One person, one role, multiple terms — all intact. Prove who held any leadership position on any date without assembling board minutes from a shared drive.

Some individuals aren’t officers but still require board-level oversight. Key employee records track people subject to key man insurance, SEC disclosure obligations, or board-designated arrangements. Each captures the designation basis and full lifecycle, including cases where status ends while the person remains employed.

Signing Authority Limits

Knowing who holds a title is one thing. Knowing what they can sign, and for how much, is another.

Some organizations rely on position alone: the CEO can sign anything. Others need limits by dollar amount, contract type, department, or geography. Each record documents the holder, scope, effective date, expiration, dollar thresholds, and co-signer requirements. When a counterparty asks for proof, you produce the record and the board resolution that granted it — part of the board governance records Lextree keeps by entity. Reminders fire at 90, 60, and 30 days before expiration, so you never discover a lapsed authorization at the moment you need to execute.

Still in spreadsheets? Start with our free authorized signatory list template — it imports straight into Lextree.

Powers of Attorney

A power of attorney (POA) creates legal agency — the right for one person to act on behalf of another. POAs expire, get revoked, and newer grants replace them.

Each POA record captures type (general, limited, durable, springing, special), scope, jurisdiction, and expiration. Revoke a POA and the record reflects it. Replace one with a newer grant and the supersession goes on record. Reminders fire at 90, 60, and 30 days. A lapsed POA means your agent can’t act. Discover the lapse after they’ve signed, and the consequences range from voidable transactions to personal liability claims.

Delegations and Designations

Authority delegations track each handoff — delegator, delegate, scope, dollar limits, sub-delegation permissions, expiration. Each links to the board resolution that authorized it, creating a complete authorization chain.

Agent designations cover tax matters partners, authorized representatives, process agents, fiscal agents, and customs agents — each tied to a specific regulatory body. When one agent replaces another, the supersession is captured. Expiration reminders ensure no lapsed designation when a regulator needs to reach you. Board resolutions from Board Governance link to the appointments and authority grants they authorize. Signing authority records prove who could execute agreements in Contracts. For trust entities, Trust Governance documents trustees and protectors with the same rigor. A city charter or purchasing ordinance sets the same kind of dollar-threshold limits, and Lextree ties public agency contract and grant deadlines to the resolution that granted each signing authority.