University contracting irregularities: what affected universities must correct in 2026

Key data

Five Spanish public universities have been directly flagged by the Court of Accounts following the audit of their contracting in fiscal year 2022. The Joint Commission for Relations with the Court of Accounts approved on May 21, 2026 a resolution—published in the BOE on July 13, 2026—which conveys the conclusions of the audit report and urges these institutions to correct their contracting practices.

The report focuses on autonomous communities that do not have their own external control body, making the Court of Accounts the sole auditor of their universities. The irregularities detected are not minor: they affect the basic principles of transparency, competition and efficiency in public spending.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution approved by the Joint Commission includes the conclusions of the audit report and formulates specific improvement mandates. The irregularities detected are grouped into four main categories:

Additionally, the resolution urges the affected universities to adopt positive measures: improve contract planning, strengthen controls in contract execution, incorporate social and environmental criteria in specifications, and use the successive performance contract figure for recurring needs, instead of chaining minor contracts.

The universities flagged are:

• University of Cantabria
• University of Extremadura
• University of La Rioja
• University of Murcia
• Polytechnic University of Cartagena

Their dependent entities are also affected by the resolution and must adapt their practices to Law 9/2017, on Public Sector Contracts.

Economic and operational impact

The impact of this resolution is not merely reputational. The affected universities face very concrete operational and management consequences:

• Review of contracting files: They must audit the minor contracts awarded in 2022 and subsequent fiscal years to detect possible fragmentation.
• Redesign of specifications: Administrative specification models must be updated to correct detected deficiencies and incorporate social and environmental clauses.
• Obligation to submit data: They must regularize the submission of contractual information to the Court of Accounts, which implies additional administrative burden.
• Change in management of recurring needs: Replacing chained minor contracts with successive performance contracts requires advance planning and greater burden in the preparatory phase.
• Extension to dependent entities: Foundations, institutes and other entities linked to these universities must also review their contracting procedures.

Illegal contract fragmentation is especially sensitive: if proven, it can result in the nullity of the affected contracts and in accounting liability of the managers involved.

Who does it affect?

• Governing bodies and management teams of the five flagged universities (Cantabria, Extremadura, La Rioja, Murcia and Polytechnic of Cartagena)
• Contracting and procurement services of these universities
• Dependent entities: university foundations, research institutes, participating companies and any other entity linked to these universities
• Legal advisors and consultants providing services to these institutions
• Regular suppliers of these universities operating under recurring minor contracts, as their contracts could be subject to review or modification of the award procedure

Practical example

Imagine that the facilities maintenance service of one of the affected universities was contracted during 2022 through six consecutive minor contracts of similar amount, awarded to the same supplier. This practice is precisely the pattern of illegal fragmentation that the Court of Accounts has detected.

According to Law 9/2017, if the maintenance need is recurring and foreseeable, the university should have processed a single successive performance contract with open bidding. By failing to do so, it has circumvented the principles of competition and publicity. The resolution of the Joint Commission requires that, from now on, this type of need be channeled through the correct procedure: advance planning, complete specification, bidding and transparent award.

If furthermore those minor contracts were not submitted to the Court of Accounts in a timely manner, the university accumulates two simultaneous breaches that it will have to regularize.

What should universities do now?

1. Audit minor contracts from 2022 onwards: Review whether there is a pattern of illegal fragmentation, especially with recurring suppliers or similar chained amounts.
2. Regularize the submission of information to the Court of Accounts: Identify which contracts were not communicated and remedy the breach as soon as possible.
3. Update administrative specification models: Correct detected deficiencies and incorporate social and environmental clauses in accordance with Law 9/2017.
4. Implement successive performance contracts for recurring needs: Identify which services or supplies are contracted repeatedly and plan their ordinary bidding.
5. Extend measures to dependent entities: Communicate compliance instructions to foundations, institutes and other linked entities.
6. Strengthen internal controls in contract execution: Establish monitoring mechanisms that detect deviations before they reach external audit.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-15275