Patrick Lim
Partner at Raj, Ong & Yudistra
In the last volume of this series, we explored the benefits of carrying out legal contract audits as well as the steps of carry one out.
In this article, we take some time to look at the risks for not carrying out such audits. There are several risks that a company may face if it does not conduct legal contract audits:
- Non-compliance: One of the main risks is that the company’s contracts may not be in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. This could lead to legal challenges or fines, and could damage the company’s reputation.
- Disputed terms: If a company’s contracts do not accurately reflect the terms of the agreement between the parties, there is a risk of disputes arising. This could lead to costly legal battles and damage to the company’s relationships with its customers, suppliers, or partners.
- Inefficient or ineffective contracts: If a company’s contracts are not optimized for its business needs, it may be paying more than it needs to for goods or services, or may be missing out on opportunities to negotiate more favorable terms. This could have a negative impact on the company’s profitability and competitiveness.
- Risk of litigation: If a company’s contracts do not adequately protect its interests or do not comply with relevant laws and regulations, there is a risk of litigation. This could be costly and time-consuming, and could divert resources away from other areas of the business.
Overall, there are many risks that a company may face if it does not conduct legal contract audits. These risks can range from non-compliance and disputed terms, to inefficiency and the risk of litigation. Conducting regular contract audits can help a company mitigate these risks and ensure that its contracts are in line with its business needs and legal requirements.
In the next part, we will take a look at some examples where insufficient levels of oversight some of which was contributed to by the lack of legal contract audits have lead to significant negative impact on some large entities.