Ernst & Young (EY), one of the world’s leading accounting firms, has introduced a groundbreaking Ethereum (ETH)-based solution to streamline contract management and prevent non-compliant transactions and errors.

The EY OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM) utilizes the Ethereum public blockchain to facilitate the execution of intricate and multi-party business agreements. This contract manager supports various contract types, including volume purchase agreements, standardized rate cards, volume discounts, rebates, and price models based on market data feeds.

EY OCM addresses the challenge faced by enterprises when managing business agreements across various internal and external operational and technological divisions. By synchronizing data across business partners, it ensures consistent enforcement of key business terms such as standardized pricing, volume discounts, rebates, and strike prices.

To guarantee the confidentiality of critical information like contract terms and transaction details, EY OCM incorporates zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). ZKPs are protocols that validate transaction validity without revealing underlying information.

According to Paul Brody, EY Global Blockchain Leader, previous client work has shown that contract automation can significantly enhance accuracy while reducing cycle times by over 90% and overall contract administration costs by almost 40%. With the inclusion of zero-knowledge privacy technology, EY has industrialized this capability, making it accessible at a fraction of the upfront cost.

The contract manager was launched during the 2024 EY Global Blockchain Summit in London, showcasing EY’s commitment to innovation and the adoption of blockchain technology.