CFOs and other executives can get an assist from contract management software that tracks every stage of a contract and alerts CFOs to when they should be involved. For instance, Emptoris just released as one product that may help ensure that all agreements get the attention they require and to mitigate risk.

The Emptoris software suite is one way CFOs can monitor all aspects of a contract, including agreed-upon business terms, milestone dates, guaranteed service levels, discounts and penalties. As each of these key elements is due for consideration, an alert is sent to project stakeholders. For example, the contract leader might receive a reminder on the software's dashboard that an interval is coming to an end and, therefore, they should consult with project members to see what needs to be re-negotiated.

Also, the software can automatically request and aggregate feedback from authorized employees. Through this process, it might come to light that a provider has not met its guaranteed SLA levels and should refund money. Or the CFO could discover that the team doesn't think the provider is as responsive as it could be. This might spark the CFO to put the contract out to bid to other providers.

In the past, CFOs would have gone office-to-office to uncover such critical information. Most likely, they would have just re-signed the contract, not knowing what pitfalls had occurred during the last term.

Now such companies as Ariba, and -- along with Emptoris -- also offer automated contract management software.