Why
Without a formal governance framework, FinOps efforts become siloed and ad-hoc. Engineers don’t know who approves commitment purchases. Finance doesn’t know who owns the forecast. When a cost spike occurs, three teams investigate independently and produce conflicting analyses. Clear RACI matrices ensure cross-team accountability and prevent duplicated effort.
What
Document a FinOps governance framework that explicitly defines roles, cross-functional RACI matrices, decision rights, and standard operating procedures for cost management.
How
Define Decision Rights
For each major FinOps decision, document who Decides, who is Consulted, and who is Informed:
| Decision | Decides | Consulted | Informed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tagging standard changes | FinOps Lead | Platform, Eng Leads | Finance |
| Commitment purchases (RI/SP/CUD) | Finance + FinOps | Engineering | Exec Sponsor |
| Budget overrun response | Eng Lead + FinOps | Finance | Exec Sponsor |
| New shared cost allocation rule | FinOps Lead | Finance, affected BUs | All BUs |
| Optimisation ticket prioritisation | Eng Lead | FinOps (triage) | Service Owner |
| Policy enforcement changes | Platform Lead | FinOps, Eng Leads | All teams |
Build the RACI Matrix
Map every recurring FinOps activity to who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Cover: cost allocation, tagging, showback, forecasting, budgeting, optimisation pipeline, anomaly response, commitment management, and maturity reviews.
Define Standard Operating Procedures
Document lightweight SOPs for the most critical processes: monthly variance review, quarterly demand intake, anomaly escalation, commitment purchase workflow, and tag governance review. Each SOP: trigger, steps, owner, output, cadence.
Publish and Socialise
Publish the governance framework in a shared location (wiki, Confluence, Git repo). Present to all stakeholders. The framework is only effective if people know it exists and where to find it.
Deliverable Checklist
- Decision rights matrix documented
- RACI matrix covering all FinOps activities
- SOPs written for critical processes
- Framework published in accessible, versioned location
- Socialised with all stakeholders (Eng, Finance, Platform)
- Annual review cadence set