Jay Laabs, CEO of Spaulding Ridge, recently shared a perspective that deserves amplification: contracting belongs with the CFO.
It’s a simple statement, but a powerful one—and an accurate reflection of how leading organizations are rethinking contracts. For too long, agreements have been treated as static legal documents, disconnected from the systems and teams responsible for revenue, forecasting, margin, and performance. That separation comes at a real cost.
Jay’s point is spot on: when contracting is powered by modern contract lifecycle management (CLM) and integrated into finance, contracts become something entirely different. They become sources of insight, efficiency, and growth.
Contracts Are One of the Most Underutilized Data Assets in the Enterprise
Every organization sits on a goldmine of contract data—pricing structures, renewal terms, obligations, incentives, escalation clauses. Yet in many companies, that data is trapped in PDFs, shared drives, or siloed tools that only surface when there’s a problem.
Placing contracting within the office of the CFO changes the equation. Finance already acts as the enterprise data clearinghouse, responsible for analytics, governance, and increasingly AI strategy. That makes it the natural home for contracting when the goal is visibility, accuracy, and decision-making at scale.
When contract data is connected to financial and operational systems, leaders can finally answer questions that matter:
- How much revenue is exposed to upcoming renewals?
- Where are outdated terms eroding margin?
- Which customers or suppliers represent renegotiation or expansion opportunities?
This is where contracts stop being administrative overhead and start becoming strategic assets.
CLM as a Practical AI Win (Not More Hype)
One of the things I appreciate most about Jay’s perspective is its practicality—especially in today’s environment. CFOs and RevOps leaders are inundated with AI promises, many of which are long on ambition and short on immediate value.
CLM stands out as a place where AI delivers real, near-term impact.
Beyond speeding up comparisons or flagging differences between versions, AI-driven contracting enables something more powerful: playbooks. By training systems on which terms are flexible and which are non-negotiable, legal review shifts from manual redlining to a review, verify, and optimize model. Risk goes down. Cycle times shrink. Consistency improves.
This isn’t experimental AI. It’s applied intelligence solving a problem every organization already has.
CLM Shouldn’t Be the Finish Line
Another important implication of Jay’s argument is what comes next.
Once organizations experience the value of connected contracting—automated workflows, trusted data, integrated systems—it becomes clear that CLM is just one of many processes ripe for transformation. The same approach applies to:
- Customer and vendor onboarding
- Renewals and amendments
- Internal approvals and compliance workflows
CLM becomes the blueprint. A proof point that modernizing document-heavy, data-rich workflows can unlock speed, clarity, and better outcomes across the business.
Why the CFO Lens Matters
Jay’s assertion that contracting belongs with the CFO isn’t about ownership for ownership’s sake. It’s about accountability and alignment.
Finance leaders are uniquely positioned to ensure contracts support performance, strategy, and growth. When contracting is embedded within finance—supported by modern CLM and connected data—organizations gain a unified view of obligations and opportunity. Decisions get smarter. Risk becomes visible earlier. Growth becomes more intentional.
That’s how smarter, more connected businesses are built.
Jay’s leadership on this topic is timely and important. As more organizations rethink where contracting lives and how it’s used, conversations like this help push the entire ecosystem forward. And that’s a win for finance, for operations, and for the businesses they support.
