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Segregation of duties matrix template for finance teams

List everyone who can touch your accounting system, bank or payroll, mark the tasks each person can do, and the sheet flags anyone who holds two duties that should be kept apart. This segregation of duties matrix template is one Excel workbook with 17 conflict rules filled in.

Finance teams
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What the matrix looks like

Segregation of duties matrix template
What the matrix coversSheet or column in the workbook
Who can do which task
✓
DutiesUp to 40 people, with an X under each of 17 finance tasks they can do
Tasks across the whole finance cycle
✓
DutiesSuppliers, purchase orders, invoices, payment runs, payroll, sales, cash, reconciliations, journals and system access
The pairs that should be kept apart
✓
Conflict rules17 standard pairs filled in, such as setting up suppliers and releasing payments
Why each pair matters
✓
Why it mattersOne line on the fraud or error each conflict makes possible
Your own rules
✓
Conflict rulesRoom for more pairs, and an Active column to switch a rule off
How many people break each rule
✓
People with this conflictCounted for every rule
Every person against every rule
✓
Conflict gridCalculated: a 1 where someone holds both tasks in an active rule
Each person's conflicts
✓
Conflicts, First conflict foundA count and the first pair found, shown in amber
What you do about a conflict
✓
Compensating control, Reviewed byThe check that makes up for it and who carries it out
Whether each line is cleared
✓
CheckSays OK, or tells you to remove a duty, record a control or name a reviewer
The rules the matrix tests
✓
Segregation of duties (in the governance section)The eight combinations the manual separates, and when to check them

When you need it

The governance section of the manual says no single person should be able to start, approve, record and pay for a transaction. The matrix is how you check that. Run it at least twice a year and when:

  • Someone joins the finance team, leaves or changes role
  • You give a new person access to the bank, payroll or accounting system
  • You move to a new finance system and user rights are set up again
  • Your team is small and one person covers several jobs
  • Auditors ask how you keep duties apart

How to use the segregation of duties matrix template

  1. List your people. On the Duties sheet, add everyone in finance and anyone else with access to the accounting system, bank or payroll.
  2. Mark what each person can do. Put an X under every task they can do, in the system as well as in practice.
  3. Check the conflict rules. Keep the 17 standard pairs, add your own, or set Active to No for a rule you have decided not to apply.
  4. Clear every conflict. Back on Duties, each person shows their conflicts. Remove the duty, or record a compensating control and who reviews it.
  5. Read the Check column. Every line should say OK before you file the workbook.
  6. Run it again. At least twice a year and whenever someone joins, leaves or changes role.

Questions

What is a segregation of duties matrix?

A grid of people against finance tasks that shows who can do what, checked against a list of task pairs one person should not hold together. Anyone who holds both tasks in a pair is flagged as a conflict.

Which duties should be kept separate in finance?

The manual separates setting up or changing suppliers from releasing payments, raising a purchase order from approving it or receiving the goods, preparing a payment run from releasing it, changing payroll data from approving payroll, raising sales invoices or credit notes from recording cash, handling cash from the bank reconciliation, posting journals from approving them, and managing system access from processing transactions.

How do small businesses handle segregation of duties?

Where the team is too small to separate a duty, record a compensating control instead, with the name of the person who reviews it. Examples in the manual are a monthly review of the full supplier change report, or the managing director reviewing every bank payment after it is made.

What is a compensating control?

A check that makes up for one person holding two duties, carried out by someone else. The matrix asks you to record the control and who reviews it for every conflict you keep.

How often should segregation of duties be reviewed?

The manual sets at least twice a year, and whenever someone joins, leaves or changes role. User access in the accounting system, bank and payroll is reviewed every quarter.

Also in the finance policies and procedures manual

Governance, authority and segregation of dutiesDelegated authority matrixPurchasing and paymentsExpensesJournals, reconciliations and fixed assetsRevenue, credit control, cash and bankingRecord keeping

See the whole pack →

Who it's for

Finance directors and financial controllers who want to show which roles conflict and what covers each one.

Last checked

Checked in November 2026.