Understanding Approval Authority Constants
Approval authority constants determine the level at which the system checks for an approver or distribution list for the requisition. Using the Approval Authority Constants program (P43E094), you can specify that the system checks for an approver or distribution list at the order level, the commodity line level, or both. At the order level, you can select any or all of these levels:
Employee
The system verifies whether the employee on the requisition is attached to a specific approver or distribution list.
Employee Group/Business Unit
The system verifies whether there is an approver or distribution list attached to the employee group and business unit to which the employee on the requisition belongs.
Employee Group
The system verifies whether there is an approver or distribution list attached to just the employee group to which the employee on the requisition belongs.
Business Unit
The system verifies whether there is an approver or distribution list attached to the business unit to which the employee on the requisition belongs.
At the line level, you can select either or both of the following:
Commodity/Business Unit
The system verifies whether there is an approver or distribution list attached to the commodity and the business unit on the requisition line.
Commodity
The system verifies whether there is an approver or distribution list attached to the commodity on the requisition line.
When the user clicks Submit on a requisition, the system accesses the Approval Authority constants. The system checks each option, in order, to see if they are selected, and then checks for an approver or distribution list for only those options that are selected. For example, the system first checks the Employee option. If the Employee option is not selected, the system then checks the Employee Group/Business Unit option. However, if the Employee option is selected, the system checks the approval authority to see if the employee on the requisition is attached to a specific approver or distribution list, and then sends the approval message to the specified approver or distribution list. If the employee on the requisition is not attached to a specific approver, the system then checks the next selected constant.
The system checks the approval authority constants at the order level first, and then sends an approval message to the approver or distribution list specified in the Approval Authority program. If the requisition is approved, the system then checks the constants at the line level to see if another approval message is required. For example, if an employee created a requisition for a new office chair, the requisition might require approval from a manager first, and then an additional approval from the buyer for that particular commodity might also be required. If the approval message generated at the order level is not approved, the system does not check the approval constants at the line level.
The system stores the approval authority constants in the F43E094 table.