Contract Insights

Colleges, universities, and other education institutions draft, negotiate, and approve a myriad of contracts with vendors, partners, suppliers, and employees every year. Actively managing contracting processes and maintaining formal relationships can be difficult and time-consuming. This holds especially true for the many universities that don’t have a system in place for the contract management process. In 2026, these challenges are even more pressing as higher education institutions face increased financial strain, heightened regulatory constraints, and greater pressure to modernize procurement and compliance workflows.

As organizations face increasing pressure to manage complex contracts quickly, clearly, and collaboratively, the tools they rely on must evolve just as quickly - if not more. CobbleStone Contract Insight^® 22.6.0 continues that evolution by refining how teams work together and keeping them organized throughout the contract lifecycle. This release focuses on making contract management feel smoother, smarter, more collaborative, and more intuitive — empowering users to navigate CLM confidently and keep momentum from the very first draft to the final signature.

Contracts are living documents that are frequently revisited by parties, counterparties, auditors, and other regulatory bodies. Ever wondered what happens when a contract is changed and no one remembers who made that change? That's where a contract audit trail comes in. What about when a company is being audited or needs to prove several compliances? Ding ding ding! Audit trails. Speaking of compliance, Gartner reports that 97% of Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) have included "Regulatory Compliance" as a top-priority area in their 2026 audit plans¹. Whether you are being audited, checking on compliance, or just need to revisit the terms of a contract, contract audit trails are here to help. Here's how.

Imagine you're at the park when - suddenly - a baseball is flying at your face at full speed. Do you wait for it to hit your face and then deal with the consequences? Well, of course not. Instead, you instinctively put your hand up as soon as you see the object meteoring toward you. But how does this apply to contract management?