Executive Signature Request Verification

executive signature request verification

Verify an executive signature request through a separate channel, confirm authority and document integrity, then preserve an auditable routing record.

Treat the request as untrusted until checked

A polished email, familiar display name, or urgent deadline does not prove who sent a signature request. Open the request through the approved document system and compare the sender, document owner, and expected transaction with a known record. If the request arrived unexpectedly, confirm it through a separate trusted channel.

Do not reply to the original message to perform that check, because a compromised mailbox can answer its own challenge.

Confirm what the executive may authorize

Identify the policy, delegation, or transaction owner that places the document within the executive's authority. Check whether another approval must occur first and whether the signer has a conflict or recusal instruction. The assistant can assemble this evidence, but should not interpret a contract or expand delegated authority.

Questions about legal effect belong with counsel or the authorized document owner.

Lock the version before review

Record the file name, version, owner, approval state, and secure location before the document reaches the executive. Ask the owner to identify every attachment and schedule that forms part of the request. If anyone changes the file after review, return it to the required reviewers.

A signature applied to an untracked download can separate the approval from the terms that were actually examined.

Give the executive a bounded briefing

Present the purpose, counterparty, deadline, prior approvals, unusual terms flagged by the responsible reviewer, and exact action requested. State what has not been verified. Keep the briefing separate from the signature field so haste does not hide missing context.

The executive should be able to pause, reject, or route the request without the assistant implying that a signature is merely administrative.

Complete delivery and retention deliberately

After signing, confirm that the completed document reached the named recipient through the approved channel. Save the executed version in its system of record with the required approval evidence. Remove temporary local copies and close any one-time access.

Record a rejected or withdrawn request as well, so the office does not mistake a later duplicate for unfinished work.

Review exceptions for control gaps

Sample signature requests that bypassed the normal path, arrived outside business hours, or changed after approval. Look for a recurring vendor, team, or document type that creates avoidable urgency. Correct the intake route with the process owner rather than teaching the assistant to normalize exceptions.

A reliable system makes the valid request easy to recognize and the unusual request easy to stop.

Common questions

Can an assistant sign for an executive?

Only when written authority and company policy expressly permit it for that document class.

What if the deadline is immediate?

Use the same identity and authority checks, then escalate the time conflict to the document owner.

Should a signed copy stay in email?

Store it in the approved record system and apply the organization's retention and access rules.

Source and service boundaries

Organizations can review our executive operations support, use the approval routing guide, or contact our team about governed executive support. Source: CISA phishing guidance.