Contractual Payment Terms: A Procedural Study in the Mining Industry of Ghana

This is a qualitative study to explore the procedures on contractual payment terms of Newmont Ghana as mining companies procure their goods and services through contractors/suppliers. Interviews were conducted with the three Contracts Administrators and complemented with archival records. The data analysis was inductive using thematic analysis from a constructivist viewpoint. The result reveals that contract requests, negotiations and evaluation were the bases for awarding a contract. The challenges have its root in non-compliance and communications gaps in the processes and procedures on contractual payment terms. The study concludes that there is a comprehensive laid-down procedure for how Newmont Ghana arrives at its payment terms. The study proposes that there must be effective coordination and collaboration between the Contracts department and the accounts payable office internally while externally Newmont must improve its supplier relationship management through best practices on account payables. Lessons learned with the prescription of four generic points to improve contractual payment terms of any organisation. This is one of the very few papers of a procedural study on contractual payment terms of contractors in the mining industry of Ghana using in-depth interviews and documentation reviews.