Published October 12, 2026.
Why the control matters
Some executive decisions remain valid indefinitely; others depend on a price, forecast, staffing assumption, legal review, or temporary exception that will change. An expiry register keeps time-limited authority from quietly becoming permanent practice.
Build the record
Record the decision, accountable owner, evidence source, effective date, review or expiry trigger, permitted actions, affected systems, and successor decision. Link confidential support rather than copying it into a broad tracker.
Run the workflow
Distinguish a review date from an automatic reversal. At review, the owner may renew, replace, narrow, or retire the decision. The assistant coordinates evidence and scheduling but does not extend authority merely because the executive is unavailable.
Review the evidence
Surface decisions approaching expiry in the executive briefing with the last useful decision time and consequence of no action. Group related items so the CEO sees dependencies instead of a stream of isolated reminders.
Close the loop
Audit expired exceptions that remain active, renewals without current evidence, and systems still following a retired instruction. Closure requires updating the operational source, notifying affected owners, and preserving the decision history.
Authority and limitations
Build an Executive Decision Expiry Register is an operating workflow, not legal, financial, security, employment, travel, or governance advice. The executive office should approve authority, information handling, retention, and exception ownership before using it.