Deleting subquorums

You can delete subquorums when they’re no longer part of your approval structure. Before deleting, ensure another approval path exists for affected operations.

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When to delete a subquorum

Consider deleting a subquorum when:

• No longer needed — A subquorum is no longer part of your approval requirements
• Replaced — Another subquorum covers the same function
• Organizational restructure — After a major change, some subquorums become obsolete
• Consolidation — You’re simplifying your approval structure

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Before deleting a subquorum

Before deletion, verify:

1. Check current use — Is this subquorum still referenced in any rules?
2. Confirm replacement — Does another subquorum or rule handle its purpose?
3. Impact analysis — What operations will be affected?
4. Approval paths — Will operations still have valid approval paths after deletion?
5. Compliance — Does your compliance requirement depend on this subquorum?

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Delete a subquorum

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What happens when you delete a subquorum

Before deletion:

• Rule: “Large withdrawals require (Finance AND Risk approval)”
• Finance = 2 of 3 CFO, Controller, Treasurer
• Risk = 1 of 2 VP Risk, Compliance Officer
• Withdrawal $150k: Needs Finance + Risk approval

After deleting Risk subquorum:

• Rule is now incomplete: “Large withdrawals require (Finance AND ???)”
• Operation cannot proceed until rule is fixed
• Fix: Modify rule to “Large withdrawals require Finance approval only”

Result: Operations that relied on Risk approval no longer have that requirement.

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Handling orphaned rules

When you delete a subquorum, any rules using that subquorum become invalid. You must fix them:

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Option 1: Remove the reference

If a rule says “(Finance) AND (Risk)”, and you delete Risk:

• Edit rule to just “(Finance)”
• Approvals now only need Finance group

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Option 2: Switch to another subquorum

If you delete Risk but want to replace it with a Compliance subquorum:

• Edit the rule from “(Finance) AND (Risk)” to “(Finance) AND (Compliance)”
• Approvals now need Finance + Compliance

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Option 3: Delete the rule entirely

If the rule no longer makes sense after deleting a subquorum:

• Delete the rule
• Operations revert to other matching rules

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Safe deletion practices

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Method 1: Move members first

Instead of deleting, move members to a different subquorum:

1. Create new subquorum — “Consolidated Approval”
2. Add members — Move all members from subquorum to be deleted
3. Update rules — Change rules to reference new subquorum
4. Then delete — Delete the old subquorum (now empty)

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Method 2: Verify no dependencies

Before deleting, confirm:

1. Check all rules — Are there any rules using this subquorum?
2. Backup the structure — Save the subquorum definition (in case you need to recreate it)
3. Communicate first — Notify affected approvers

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Method 3: Stage the deletion

Delete in phases:

1. Week 1: Remove subquorum from active rules (but don’t delete it yet)
2. Week 2: Monitor — do operations route correctly without this subquorum?
3. Week 3: If no issues, delete the subquorum
4. Week 4: Document the deletion

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When NOT to delete a subquorum

Don’t delete a subquorum if:

• Still in use — It’s referenced by active rules
• Compliance requires it — Your regulatory obligations depend on it
• No alternative path — Deleting it would leave operations with no approval path
• Recent creation — You created it too recently to know if it’s working
• Historical significance — You’re maintaining it for audit purposes

Instead, consider editing it to remove active members while keeping the structure for historical records.

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Recovering a deleted subquorum

If you accidentally delete a subquorum:

1. Check version history — Some systems keep policy versions; roll back
2. Recreate manually — Remember the members and requirement, create it again
3. Request recovery — Contact your administrator or Porto support

Keep documented copies of important subquorum structures.

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Approval for subquorum deletion

Deleting a subquorum requires approval:

• Approvers: Based on your admin policy
• Timing: Deletion takes effect after approval
• Audit trail: Deletion is recorded with all details

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Communication around deletion

When deleting a subquorum, notify users:

1. Which subquorum — Name and purpose of the group being deleted
2. Why — Business reason for deletion
3. Effective date — When the deletion takes effect
4. Impact — Which approvals change? Are they faster or slower?
5. New approval process — If rules change, explain the new process

Example notification:

• “We’re deleting the ‘Risk Committee’ subquorum (VP Risk + Compliance Officer).”
• “Reason: Consolidating approval requirements to streamline operations.”
• “Effective: January 20”
• “New process: All withdrawals now require only Finance Committee approval (2 of 3).”

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Audit trail of deletion

Subquorum deletion is recorded with:

• When: Date and time deleted
• Who: User who requested deletion
• Approval: Who approved the deletion
• Previous definition: The full structure of what was deleted (subquorum name, members, requirement)
• Reason: Why it was deleted (if provided)

This allows you to reference the deleted structure later if needed.

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Simplifying complex structures

If you have many subquorums, consider simplifying: Before (complex):

• 5 subquorums: Finance, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Operations
• Rules using combinations of all 5

After (simplified):

• 2 subquorums: Finance and Specialists (Risk + Compliance + Legal + Operations together)
• Simpler rules: Finance AND Specialists

Actions:

• Create Specialists subquorum with all specialist members
• Update rules to use simplified structure
• Delete the 4 individual specialist subquorums

Result: Simpler to manage, easier to understand.

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Best practices for subquorum deletion

• Communicate early — Notify users before deleting
• Fix dependencies first — Update or delete rules referencing the subquorum
• Keep records — Document what was deleted and why
• Verify backups — Ensure you have a way to recover if needed
• Regular reviews — Quarterly cleanup of unused or redundant subquorums
• Simplify over time — Use deletions as opportunity to simplify structure
• One at a time — Delete only one subquorum per change cycle for clarity