Three Queensland researchers have had their work on cutting corruption featured in one of the most authoritative publications in the world.

University of Southern Queensland (USQ) team Arjun Neupane, Jeffrey Soar and Jianming Yong, along with Canberra University’s Kishor Vaidya, have had their article “Reducing corruption through e-procurement” featured in the United Nations Annual Statistical Report on United Nations Procurement supplement.

Post-doctorate researcher Dr Neupane said corruption in public procurement (the procurement of goods and services on behalf of government authorities) was an internationally-recognised issue which had been increasing in the developing world.

“The escalation of corruption in public procurement can lead to misallocations of taxpayer money and decreased efficiency of the procurement system,” Dr Neupane said.

“Corruption can come from a number of different factors such as lack of accountability and transparency, unjustified or hidden procurement planning, instances of political pressure, monopolising of power and many more.”

The research looked at using automated online procurement systems to reduce corruption and enhance transparency and accountability.

“The automation of procurement processes through internet-based information systems (e-procurement) can go through the process automatically while linking buyers to suppliers, increasing transparency and reducing chances of human intervention, among other things,” he said.

“Our research findings aim to help government institutions and other stakeholders in developing countries better understand the anti-corruption capabilities of e-procurement.”

The United Nations Annual Statistic Report supplement is accessible here.