CAE cheat sheet

Identify the authorized body before treating a recommendation as a decision.

Board policy and operating procedure have different roles.

Delegation needs limits and reporting.

Disclosure may require further conflict-management action.

Use current governing rules for notice, votes and quorum.

Component agreements should define brand, finance and authority.

Pair responsibility with usable authority and resources.

Use specific observed work rather than personality labels.

Protect good-faith reporting while maintaining accountability.

Plan change around people, processes and adoption.

Communicate verified facts and uncertainty accurately.

Separate emergency continuity from permanent succession.

Distinguish mission, vision, outputs and outcomes.

Use external scanning and explicit assumptions.

A baseline supports comparison but does not prove causation.

Opportunity cost is the best alternative forgone.

Use portfolios and resource tradeoffs rather than isolated wish lists.

Pilots need criteria and a decision after evidence arrives.

Accounting surplus is not necessarily available cash.

Respect fund restrictions and stated recognition policies.

Use independent review for incompatible transaction duties.

An audit is not an absolute guarantee.

Define vendor performance and exit arrangements.

Test backup restoration and maintain incident-response capability.

Start with audience need and intended benefit.

Attendance, learning and competence are different claims.

Protect assessment validity and security.

Break-even count = fixed cost / contribution per participant under stated assumptions.

Define sponsorship, content and licence boundaries.

Review mature products and manage retirement obligations.

Renewal numerator and eligible cohort must match.

New joins are not renewals.

Net growth can conceal attrition.

Onboarding should create early useful benefit.

Volunteers need realistic roles and support.

Assess actual participation barriers and missing perspectives.

Use an authorized policy process and relevant evidence.

Distinguish legislative and regulatory decisions.

State source limits and correct material errors.

Coalitions require defined commitments and exit arrangements.

Apply compliance to the actual entity, jurisdiction and activity.

Association meetings do not exempt competitor price coordination.

Define audience value and the intended action first.

Use explicit denominators for rates.

Attribution models do not prove sole causation.

Design accessible and accurate content.

Disclose sponsorship and honour appropriate communication preferences.

Control versions and scheduled content when facts change.