Many jurisdictions, including the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands and Channel Islands, require higher-risk business relationships to be approved by senior management. SILO's Approvals feature provides a structured, auditable workflow that records who approved a profile, when the approval was given, and any supporting comments, helping firms meet these regulatory requirements. Every approval is automatically recorded in the Activity Log, providing a complete audit trail of approval decisions.
Logging an Approval
Users with permission to record a particular approval tier can add approvals directly from the profile without placing it into Edit Mode.
To record an approval:
Open the required profile.
Scroll to the Approvals section.
Select + Add Approval.
Select the approval tier.
(Optional) Backdate the approval if you are recording an approval that was granted before it was entered into SILO.
Add approval notes.
Select Save.
Note: Users will only see the approval tiers they are authorised to complete.
SILO will record:
Approver
Approval date
Approval tier
Approval notes
The approval is immediately recorded in the Activity Log and included within the Approvals & Periodic Reviews Report.
How Approvals Work
Each profile (e.g. individual, entity, or trust) in SILO can have one or more approval tiers, depending on the organization’s configuration.
SILO supports up to five approval tiers, though most firms typically utilise three, with the third tier only required for high-risk profiles.
Typical configurations include:
Tier 1 – Compliance Officer or Analyst
Tier 2 – Senior Compliance Officer or Risk Manager
Tier 3 – Senior Management or Board-Level Approval (for high-risk cases)
(Tiers 4 and 5 are available for firms that require more complex multi-level approval structures.)
Once the required number of approvals is met, the record’s approval status indicator turns green. If an approval is still pending, it will remain yellow or red, depending on configuration. Users will only be able to record the approval tiers they have permission to complete.
Approvals and Risk Ratings
The number of approvals required is typically determined by the profile's Risk Rating. Most SILO instances are configured as follows:
Low or Medium Risk: requires Tier 1 and Tier 2 approvals.
High Risk: requires Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 approvals.
SILO dynamically updates the required approval levels whenever a profile’s risk rating changes.
For example:
If a profile is upgraded from Medium to High risk (e.g. during a periodic review or due to a trigger event such as adverse media or new PEP status), the system will automatically mark the record as requiring an additional Tier 3 approval.
Once that approval is logged, the status updates to “Complete” and the change is captured in the Activity Log.
Configuration
Each SILO instance can be tailored to reflect the firm’s internal approval policies:
Define the number of approval tiers required (up to five).
Assign specific users or roles to each tier.
Enable or disable the Approval Guidance Flag, which visually indicates if a record meets its required approval level.
If you would like to change your approval workflow, please contact the SILO Support team. This ensures your approval workflow aligns with your firm's internal policies and risk framework.
How SILO Determines Approval Status
SILO checks the profile’s risk rating and approval tier configuration.
Each profile’s approval status is recalculated whenever:
The profile’s risk rating changes.
An approval is added or removed.
A “Complete” status (green) appears once all required tiers for that risk level are fulfilled.
Approvals are immutable audit records—each includes timestamp, user, and notes for accountability.
Why it Matters
Using SILO's approval workflow helps firms:
Maintain a complete audit trail of approval decisions.
Demonstrate compliance with regulatory approval requirements.
Ensure high-risk profiles receive the appropriate level of oversight.
Monitor outstanding approvals through dashboards and reports.
Reduce reliance on manual approval processes.