Latest news with #McLagan
Techday NZ
07-07-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Contract inefficiencies cost global economy AUD $3.13 trillion
Australian workplaces are experiencing a notable productivity slowdown, with new research indicating that inefficient contract management processes are contributing to the country's economic challenges. The latest report from Docusign, in collaboration with Deloitte, identifies outdated and manual agreement procedures as a factor behind ongoing micro-inefficiencies in businesses, which, when accumulated, significantly impact national productivity levels. The findings come as the Productivity Commission's most recent bulletin highlighted only a 0.2% growth in output, while hours worked rose by 0.3%—leading to stagnation in productivity results in early 2025. Despite widespread adoption of digital transformation initiatives and artificial intelligence (AI), many organisations still depend on fragmented contract workflows. According to Docusign, such inefficiencies equate to more than AUD $3.13 trillion in lost economic value on a global scale each year. Key findings The Docusign-Deloitte survey focused on the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region, uncovering the scale of the so-called 'Agreement Trap'. Lengthy negotiation cycles and delays in approval are prompting business leaders to prioritise operational efficiency measures. The study shows that 68% of ANZ decision-makers rate their contract creation capability as advanced, with 55% attributing significant performance improvements to this maturity. "Reversing Australia's weak productivity performance is one of the most urgent economic challenges we currently face, and slow business processes are only exacerbating the issue. It is perhaps no surprise that we're seeing businesses focus on tactical use cases like contract creation; what may seem like siloed inefficiencies at the individual business level actually causes a considerable strain on productivity when multiplied at the scale of the economy," said Shaun McLagan, Group Vice President and General Manager for ANZ at Docusign. The digital maturity gap The report highlights a disconnect between reported digital maturity and tangible impact on business performance. While 75% claim advanced capability in routing, editing, and approval workflows, only 39% saw notable enhancement from these capabilities. Similarly, 85% reported high maturity in customer experience; however, less than half (44%) credited this with significant performance benefits. In the area of business intelligence, 90% of ANZ leaders stated that insights and intelligence are mature functions within their organisations. Nonetheless, only 25% said these capabilities had significantly boosted business performance, which is behind the 33% reported by Japanese counterparts. McLagan commented: "ANZ leaders are rightly focused on driving microefficiencies, but many are still struggling to extract strategic value from their contract management systems. Despite investments in automation and advanced tools, the business impact often lags behind technological maturity. Organisations must think bigger, and more strategically, about how agreements can unlock long-term performance gains." AI and contract lifecycle management Artificial intelligence is increasingly regarded as a key enabler for agreement management transformation. Globally, business leaders estimate 60% of each capability within contract lifecycle management could be AI-assisted within the next three years. Nearly half (48%) of global leaders surveyed rank contract creation as a priority area for AI application, ahead of functions such as insights and intelligence (35%), customer experience (35%), agreement storage and categorisation (32%), review and risk evaluation (30%), and obligation and renewal management (28%). The report cautions, however, that while automation can drive immediate productivity gains, businesses could repeat previous mistakes by ignoring use cases with potential for long-term strategic value. McLagan said: "Contract creation being an essential area for AI indicates a key pain point for organisations. However, AI and intelligent agreement management represent an opportunity for businesses to think beyond automating away pain points and digging deeper into the untapped potential trapped inside static contracts." He added, "Agreements are the heartbeat of the economy. As Australia seeks to turn the tide on its productivity slump, closing the gap between digital maturity and real-world business impact in agreement management will play a key role in growing the modern economy." Survey methodology The Docusign and Deloitte survey drew on responses from over 1,400 business leaders across 14 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. Organisations surveyed ranged in size from 125 to 20,000 employees and included representatives from sales, procurement, customer experience, human resources, legal, and information technology roles. Respondents were at director level or above and held responsibility for contract management functions. The research combined quantitative data with qualitative interviews for context.
The Courier
29-04-2025
- The Courier
Fake cop who pulled over woman on M90 was sex offender
A convicted child sex offender ordered a pregnant woman to stop on a motorway using a flashing orange light on his dashboard and told her he was a military police officer, a court has heard. Sinister Sidney McLagan pursued 29-year-old Sian Owen down the M90 and flashed his full beam headlights at her until she pulled over. Ms Owen and partner Sam Taylor, 31, had been travelling from Liverpool to Shetland for a wedding when they were targeted by 73-year-old McLagan on the morning of May 20 last year. 'It was really bizarre,' Mr Taylor said. 'But also pretty frightening. 'We doubted he was military police but we didn't know whether or not he was someone in a position of authority. 'Sian was pregnant at the time and that day was her birthday, so you can imagine how shaken up she was.' Mr Taylor, who had travelled with Ms Owen and their seven-month-old child to Perth Sheriff Court for trial on Monday, said: 'We couldn't believe it when we found out who he was and what he had done before.' McLagan, from Bridge of Earn, pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and causing Ms Owen to stop without lawful authority. In 2003, the former bus driver was jailed for 15 months for historic charges involving sexually abusing two children, aged five and seven, during the 1970s. Fiscal depute Andrew Harding, prosecuting, said: 'This happened at about 9.30am. 'Ms Owen was driving down the M90 when she observed the accused's blue Toyota. 'She saw him flashing his headlights at her. 'Then he turned on an orange flashing light from the centre of his dash.' Mr Taylor, asleep in the passenger seat, woke and told his partner not to pull over. However, when McLagan continued to pursue their vehicle, Ms Owen drove off the motorway and onto Wicks O' Baiglie Road at Bridge of Earn. 'The accused and Ms Owen exited their vehicles,' said Mr Harding. 'He approached the witness and told her his car was a registered military police vehicle and as such she would be reported for a driving offence.' The fiscal depute said: 'Mr Taylor began questioning the authenticity of the accused and asked to see some identification.' The two men argued and McLagan handed over a 'military-style patch'. Mr Harding said: 'The accused said he was MOD police, before driving away.' McLagan was identified and traced by police that afternoon. They seized items from his car, including the orange light, his patch and the SD card from his dashcam. Solicitor Bethany Downham, defending, said: 'He advises that he was driving on the motorway when he was cut up by the complainer. 'His intention was to confront the driver and explain that their driving was dangerous. 'He did not intend any harm. 'However, he accepts that he should have approached the matter entirely differently and should not have acted in the way that he did. 'He accepts responsibility for his actions.' Sheriff Clair McLachlan told McLagan: 'This was quite a bizarre offence and one that will have caused upset to the complainers. 'That's not to mention their inconvenience of having to travel to court today.' The sheriff ordered McLagan, of Muirmont Place, Bridge of Earn, to pay Ms Owen £600 compensation. McLagan was placed on the sex offenders register in May 2003, after he admitted lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards a seven-year-old girl on a patch of ground at Perth's Firbank Road in 1971. He further pled guilty to similar behaviour towards a five-year-old boy between December 1974 and December 1975. The former Stagecoach driver's recollection was hazy due to drink and drugs, the court was told. McLagan was later hounded out of Perth by vigilante residents who posted news clippings of his offending through his letter box. He found work in London, but retired some 14 years ago after an accident left him with five damaged discs. The court previously heard had a low IQ of 71, placing him in the bottom 3% of the population.
