When you are configuring workflow it’s help to understand, for approvals, the concept of the workflow owner and workflow originator. The workflow owner is the one who is assigned in the setup of the workflow as the owner. For example if you are using the hierarchy provider then that is where the workflow will start searching for a person in the hierarchy which may not be what you need in most typical workflow scenarios.

Here is a quick overview.

AX2012 CU11

Cheers

Lachlan