Herrod & Associates

Contract Review Process Overview

Our entire contract review process is designed to accomplished in nine to twelve weeks from the kickoff meeting with the client's supplier to delivery of the final audit report and contract improvements. Herrod and Associates, often accomplishes this in less than the expected time. By doing this, audit findings and contract improvement recommendations can be quickly implemented and contract amendments put in place in a very timely manner. This process has been utilized on more than 650 audits. The process has benn well-received by the supplier, within minimal cost, time, and expense to the client company.

Pre-
Planning

Prior to the beginning of any contract reviews, meetings with the audit firm and the client's compliance staff and /or procurement staff are conducted to consider what reviews are to be completed, the scope of the reviews, and the expectations of the deliverables. A notification letter, preferably on client letterhead from the client procurement director or compliance manager, is sent to each prospective supplier candidate informing them of the upcoming audit event. The audit team will meet with the procurement manager and staff to explain the audit review process and receive valuable feedback from the client representatives. The audit team will begin assembling all the client's materials considered pertinent to the audit, including copies of the contracts, pricing schedules, and reference materials.

Pre-
Audit

During this phase of the review process, the audit team will contact the supplier candidate to explain the audit process, establish the logistics of the audit and request financial data for analysis. Once the audit team receives the requested data, the information can be reviewed prior to the on-site visit, allowing the audit team to maximize its productivity while on-site and minimize the distractions to the supplier's daily activities.

During
the
Audit

This phase of the review process includes the initial discovery and disclosure of any contract non-compliances and the best practices or contract improvement recommendations to the client/supplier relationship are identified. During this portion of the review, the audit findings are reviewed and validated with both the client and supplier until a final agreed upon resolution is achieved. In addition to the audit report, a contract review management report detailing the identified best practices is developed.

Post
Audit

In the last phase of the contract review, the contract review management report is finalized and updated with the final compliance audit report findings and recommendations for process and contract improvements. This management report is delivered to the client's stakeholders including management, contract compliance group and procurement representatives.