During contractual negotiations with employees, business partners, and other organizations, a contract analyst protects the interests of a specific entity. Contractual disputes can lead to expensive court battles, and analysts are tasked with preventing this from happening. People in these positions may also be responsible for finding ways to cut costs changing the language in standard contractual agreements.
Anyone working as a contract analyst should have a bachelor’s degree in business administration or a related field. Students learn about various types of agreements in these classes, such as purchase, employment, and financing contracts, and people in these positions may have to deal with all of these documents on a regular basis. Some firms prefer to hire people with law degrees, while others reserve contract analyst roles for licensed attorneys, who can not only understand these documents but also represent the firm in court if a dispute arises.
Local, national, and even international contract laws have an impact on businesses in many areas. Analysts must have a broad understanding of these laws and must keep up to date on company procedures and policies whenever these rules are changed legislation. Attorneys who specialize in real estate transactions, employment rights, liability cases, and other types of legal matters may frequently communicate with individuals who are not licensed to practice law. Before these contracts can be distributed for general use, human resources personnel, procurement managers, and other company employees must typically ask the contract analyst to review and approve them.
A contract analyst must gather information about industry trends and the types of clauses that are being inserted into competitor’s agreements, in addition to limiting a firm’s liability during legal disputes. If other companies start giving executives company cars or including expense accounts in standard employment agreements, the contract analyst must weigh the benefits and drawbacks of including such clauses in the company’s labor agreements. Similarly, if other companies eliminate clauses that provide health insurance or other types of benefits to their employees, the analyst must assess the impact of such a move. When these situations arise, this person may write a report outlining the cost savings as well as the potential long-term consequences if employees react negatively to the change.
People in these positions must ensure that contracts are formatted correctly in addition to using specific language and ensuring that legal documents are cost effective. The type of paper, ink, and print font that should be used on legal documents are all specified law in many areas. The analyst must ensure that company employees follow all applicable laws and that these documents can be mass produced at a low cost.