2.8 The problems with contract management go beyond lapses in administration and understanding. The problems are rooted in a civil service culture that does not understand the value of contract management, and which has hindered previous attempts to disseminate and implement best practice. Reform of contract management will therefore need to go beyond a tightening of controls. It is difficult to generalise across 17 government departments, but from our collective experience of auditing government contracting we have identified 4 key causes of poor contract management that need to be addressed.