Master Data Governance RACI Template
Most master data problems return because no one clearly owns the data. A RACI matrix settles who creates, approves, changes and monitors each kind of record. This template gives you a charter, principles and a starting matrix you can edit and circulate.
Fill in
Master Data Governance RACI Template
Master Data Governance Charter
Company: Acme Precision Ltd Executive sponsor: VP Operations Governance lead: ERP Systems Manager Effective: 2026-11-01 Review cycle: Semi-annual
Principles
Every master data domain has one accountable owner. Data is created once, in one system of record, and distributed to others. Changes to critical fields require approval and leave an audit trail. Quality is measured on a published schedule.
RACI by domain and activity
| Activity | Engineering | Purchasing | Planning | Finance | Sales/CS | Quality | ERP admin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create or change item master | R | C | C | C | I | C | A |
| Approve item costing fields | I | C | I | A/R | I | I | C |
| Create or change vendor | I | R | I | A | I | C | C |
| Approve vendor bank change | I | C | I | A/R | I | I | C |
| Create or change customer | I | I | I | C | A/R | I | C |
| Release BOM and routing | A/R | C | C | I | I | C | I |
| Set planning parameters | I | C | A/R | I | I | I | C |
| Run quality scans and report | I | I | I | I | I | C | A/R |
| Deactivate obsolete records | R | C | C | C | C | I | A |
Service levels
2 business days for new item, vendor and customer requests
Legend
R = Responsible (does the work). A = Accountable (one owner, final approval). C = Consulted (two-way input before the decision). I = Informed (told after the decision).
Approvals
The matrix is a starting example. Rules to keep: exactly one A per row, at least one R, and avoid making everyone C. Adapt roles to your organization. This is a governance template, not legal or audit advice. Ensure vendor bank change controls also meet your internal audit requirements.
Need governance workflows built into your ERP?
Optional: a short call to review how requests and approvals could be enforced in your system.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use the template
Fill in the sponsor, governance lead, review cycle and turnaround target. Tailor the principles to your company. Then edit the matrix rows to match your real activities and departments, keeping exactly one accountable role per row. Export to PDF for sign-off or to Word to adapt the table. Review the document at the interval you chose, and whenever you add a new ERP, a new plant or a new data domain.
Roles in plain terms
Responsible means doing the work. Accountable means owning the outcome and having final say, and there should be one per row. Consulted means giving input before the decision. Informed means being told afterwards. A data owner is typically a business leader accountable for a domain, while a data steward handles daily quality and requests. IT or the ERP admin usually supports the tooling and workflow rather than owning the business meaning of the data.
- Data owner: accountable for a domain
- Data steward: day-to-day quality and requests
- ERP admin: tools, workflow, scans
- Approvers: finance for cost and bank fields
Design guidance
Put the person with the most to lose from bad data in the accountable seat. Finance usually owns costing and vendor bank details, planning owns planning parameters, and engineering owns BOM and routing release. Keep the number of approvers small for low-risk fields to avoid backlogs, and put heavier control on fields that move money, such as bank accounts, payment terms, credit limits and standard costs.
Common mistakes
Naming a committee as accountable means no one is. Writing the policy but not enforcing it in the ERP workflow leaves it optional. Giving IT accountability for business content overloads IT and removes real ownership. Setting a turnaround target nobody monitors turns it into a wish. Finally, skipping periodic review lets roles drift as people move jobs, so refresh the named owners at least yearly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a RACI matrix for master data governance?
It is a table that shows, for each master data activity such as creating an item or changing a vendor bank account, which role is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. It removes ambiguity about ownership and approvals.
Who should own item master data?
It depends on the field. Engineering often owns identity and BOM data, planning owns planning parameters, finance owns costing and account fields, and quality owns control flags. Assign accountability per field group, with one coordinating steward.
How many accountable roles per row?
Exactly one. When two roles share accountability, decisions stall and nobody can be held to the result. Use Responsible and Consulted to involve other roles instead.
How often should governance roles be reviewed?
Review at least yearly, and after reorganizations, ERP changes or acquisitions. Check that each named owner is still in role and that the matrix reflects how requests actually flow.
If you want requests, approvals and quality scans wired into your ERP with an audit trail, we can help design the workflow and the read-only monitoring around it.
Related Tools
Item Master Data Quality Checklist
A 33-point checklist for auditing item or material master records before they cause wrong MRP, wrong cost or wrong shipments.
Costing & FinanceDuplicate Vendor Detection Worksheet
Record suspected duplicate suppliers, score the matching signals and track the merge decision and owner.
ERP OperationsCustomer Master Cleanup Worksheet
Track customer records with data defects, score cleanup priority by revenue and issue count, and assign an owner and action.
Engineering & PLMPart Numbering Scheme Generator Template
Fill in your company rules and get a one-page part numbering standard with format, class codes, examples and governance rules.
MES & Shop FloorRouting Accuracy Audit Template
A document template to audit ERP routings against the real process: sequence, work center, setup and run time, tooling and yield.