Segregation of duties for technology purchases in smaller teams

Smaller Taiwanese companies often run technology purchasing through a single operations lead. Perfect segregation of duties is unrealistic. Compensating controls—periodic independent review, dual approval above a threshold, and surprise reconciliations—carry more weight than org charts that look good on paper.

A practical threshold many clients adopt: any technology purchase above a set amount requires a second approver outside the requester’s department. Below that threshold, a monthly sample reviewed by finance still catches patterns.

Receiving matters. If devices arrive and nobody records serial numbers against the purchase order, inventory drift follows. Even a simple spreadsheet updated at delivery, checked quarterly by someone who did not place the order, strengthens the trail.

During an operational controls walkthrough we ask to see one purchase end-to-end: request, approval, receipt, invoice match, and payment. Gaps become obvious within a single hour when the evidence is incomplete.