1980073 - Unassigned Approval Tasks for Expense Reports

In the Business Task Management view of the Application and User Management work center, unassigned approval tasks for expense reports are observed to appear for the key user. This document aims to explain the reasons behind the occurrence of these unassigned tasks and provide guidance on how to handle and resolve them.

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Unassigned tasks for expense report approval are created due to two possible reasons. Firstly, the task may not have the 'Approvals' work center assigned to the user responsible for it. Secondly, the task may not have a designated person responsible based on the approval process definition.

Cause 1: occurs when the approval process definition designates a user as an approver for expense reports but does not have the 'Approvals' work center assigned. The 'Approvals' work center is necessary for authorization to approve expense reports.

Cause 2: happens when the system is unable to determine the person responsible dynamically based on the approval process definition. For example, if the line manager of an employee needs to approve the report but no line manager is defined for that employee.

To determine the specific type of unassigned task, the option to "Re-determine assignment" can be chosen, and the application log that was created can be reviewed. If the unassigned task is caused by the employee not having the 'Approvals' work center view assigned, it is due to Cause 1. If the unassigned task is caused by no responsible approver being found for the document, it is due to Cause 2.

Unassigned tasks can be resolved in one of two ways:

1. The assignment of the approval task can be re-determined. In the object work list of the unassigned tasks, the item can be selected and "Re-determine Assignment" can be chosen. The system will attempt to assign the task to the corresponding person responsible, based on the approval process definition. This method is generally effective for unassigned tasks caused by the approval work center not being assigned to the user, but only if the missing work center is assigned to the responsible user.

2. The task can be manually assigned. In the object work list of the unassigned tasks, the item can be selected and "Assign" can be chosen. In the subsequent dialog box, the approver to whom the task should be manually assigned can be selected. This method works for both causes 1 and 2.

Caution: The system verifies the instance authorization of the expense report and only displays possible recipients who match the instance authorization. For example, if an expense report needs to be approved by the line manager, cost center manager, and person X in sequential steps, but the cost center manager does not have the Approvals work center assigned (cause 1), only the line manager, cost center manager, and person X will be shown as possible recipients when attempting to manually assign the task. The assignment to the cost center manager will fail again if the work center is still missing, as this is checked during assignment. For unassigned tasks caused by cause 2, the system will display all users who have the Approvals work center assigned as possible recipients.

If neither solution 1 nor 2 provides a satisfactory resolution, the expense report can be recalled from the approval process. This will eliminate the unassigned approval tasks, and when the expense report is resubmitted for approval, any unassigned tasks should not occur for the second time, ensuring the desired approval is obtained.

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