Ernst & Young (EY), one of the Big Four accounting firms, has unveiled a cutting-edge solution on the Ethereum blockchain that automates contract management and safeguards against non-compliant transactions and errors.

EY OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM), as it is called, leverages the Ethereum public blockchain to streamline the execution of intricate and multi-party business agreements. The contract manager is designed to support various types of business contracts, including volume purchase agreements, standardized rate cards, volume discounts, rebates, and price models that rely on market data feeds.

“EY OCM addresses the challenge faced by enterprises in managing business agreements that span internal and external operational and technology silos. It harmonizes data across business partners and ensures consistent adherence to key business terms, such as standardized pricing, volume discounts, rebates, and strike prices,” explains Ernst & Young.

To enhance security, EY OCM employs zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to maintain the confidentiality of critical information such as contract terms and transaction details. ZKPs are protocols that validate the accuracy of transactions without revealing the underlying information.

Paul Brody, EY Global Blockchain Leader, affirms the benefits of contract automation, stating, “Through our previous work with clients, we have discovered that contract automation can significantly improve accuracy while reducing cycle times by over 90% and overall contract administration costs by nearly 40%. With our zero-knowledge privacy technology, we have scaled this capability, making it accessible at a fraction of the initial cost.”

The contract manager was officially launched during the 2024 EY Global Blockchain Summit in London.

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