The Technology segment of global business advisory firm, FTI Consulting, recently announced the launch of its Contract Intelligence Services practice, which delivers solutions for legal teams seeking transparency across enterprise contracts to help make key decisions, leverage negotiations and meet regulatory requirements. FTI Technology assists clients with a broad range of data-related business challenges, including Contract Intelligence as a key component of the broader contract lifecycle management process.

FTI Technology’s Contract Intelligence approach reduces costs by incorporating advanced data analytics with custom solutions and workflows designed by operational and subject-matter experts. Clients receive comprehensive and ongoing updates on review findings such as financial or legal obligations, cost-saving opportunities and risk exposure.

These workflows can be applied in a variety of business scenarios:

Compliance with lease accounting standards

Conducting pre-merger contract diligence

Identifying post-merger business opportunities and synergies

Aligning contract terms with emerging regulations

Highlighting trends across contract obligations and risks

“A typical contract portfolio for a large corporation is in the tens of thousands, spanning multiple business units and held in disparate locations,” said Ryan Drimalla, a managing director within FTI Technology’s Contract Intelligence team. “Today’s manual processes for physically collecting and reviewing data within contracts are cost-prohibitive and resource-intensive. To uncover business-critical information contained within these documents, we offer a technology-forward alternative that allows companies to automate processes and quickly identify, review, analyze, and extract data to reduce risk and leverage untapped opportunities.”

One driver for Contract Intelligence includes new accounting rules coming into effect in 2019 (IFRS 16 issued by the International Accounting Standards Board in January 2016 and ASC Topic 842 issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in February 2016), which require companies to include all lease commitments and operating leases as part of their reported debt and assets. To achieve compliance, companies must have the ability to find, analyze and report on their entire enterprise lease universe, including leases hidden in email attachments and other non-traditional locations.

The global Contract Intelligence Services team includes leasing transaction experts, contract process experts, forensic experts, corporate investigation specialists and technology professionals that have led some of the largest and most complex regulatory response, information governance, M&A, litigation and investigative engagements.

 

 

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