In this article:
Close a compliance task after reviewing the Action officer's work, supporting evidence, and any related issues or improvements. The Close stage provides the final approval point in the compliance workflow.
If more work is required, assign another task with clear instructions and a due date. If the evidence is satisfactory, approve and close the task so its final record remains available for traceability and reporting.
You are the Approval officer selected when the compliance task was scheduled. The Action officer has signed the task off as complete and sent it to you for review.
Use the Action history, action taken, attachments, and related improvements to decide whether the requirement has been met.
Q: What should I do if the evidence is incomplete?
A: Select Assign another task, describe what must be corrected or supplied, assign the task, and set a due date.
Q: Can I add another issue before closing?
A: Yes. Add an identified issue and recommended improvement when a follow-up item is needed.
Q: What happens to attachments after closure?
A: They remain with the closed compliance task and keep the same viewing permissions.
Before you start
Check the following:
- You have the Close compliance tasks permission (minimum licence type required: Approve).
- You have reviewed the original instructions, Action history, action taken, and supporting evidence.
- You know whether the task can close or requires more work.
Step 1: Open the compliance approval task
Open Tasks and select the compliance task description to review it in the Close stage.
Navigation path
Select the task description to open the completed compliance task.
Step 2: Review the completed work
Review the Action history to confirm when the task was completed, who completed it, and what was recorded.
Use Action history together with the action taken, attachments, and related improvements to verify completion.
Step 3: Choose an approval outcome
In Task management, choose whether to return the work for another action or approve and close it.
Choose the outcome that matches your review of the completed work.
Step 4: Assign another task (if required)
Select Assign another task, then describe the follow-up work, select the person responsible, and set the task due date.
Give the next action officer clear instructions and a realistic due date.
Step 5: Approve and close
Select Approve and close. Use Additional comments to record the grounds for your approval or a final observation, then review any identified issues, improvements, and attachments.
Approve and close accepts the completed work and enables submission of the final decision.
Identified issues and improvements: Confirm that any related improvements accurately describe the gap and required follow-up. Add another item only when the review identifies something new - it also appears in the Related items tab for this compliance task. If an improvement already exists, link it from Related items instead of adding it again here. If a corrective action is required, classify it as a Non-conformance in the Improvement type field. Submitting creates the related Improvement item and assigns it to its responsible person.
The related Improvement item appears in the Related items tab for this compliance task.
Attach records: Add final approval evidence or correspondence that should remain with the closed task. Give each record a meaningful name. Select Attach to choose a file; where links are enabled, choose File or Link and use a valid web or SharePoint URL. Only people who can view the compliance task can view its records.
Select Submit to save the approval decision and close the compliance task.
System event history
This section provides a chronological record of changes, assignments, submissions, workflow events, and related items created from the compliance task.
Use System event history to confirm the final sequence of changes and workflow events.
Expand an event when you need to see more information about it.
What happens next
The approval decision is saved
Comments, attachments, and related improvements remain with the compliance task.
The task closes or returns for action
Approve and close moves it to Closed; assigning another task keeps it active.
The record remains traceable
The completed compliance history remains available for search, reporting, and evidence.