Assesment of the Lost Profits of the State University from Cancelled Contracts

This paper examines the issue of economic losses incurred by Russian universities due to the cancellation of contracts made through the state procurement system. To gather statistical information, an automated system for economic research based on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) technology is utilized. Information retrieval from the extensive database of the state procurement system is performed using an intelligent software robot. The study provides an analysis of data on canceled contracts for three universities: Moscow State University, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, and Sevastopol State University. To assess the losses from contract cancellations, methods of opportunity cost analysis and statistical analysis are proposed. The opportunity cost is evaluated based on the potential deposit income that could have been obtained if the planned contract funds were deposited in a bank. The concept of specific opportunity cost per canceled contract is introduced. Statistical analysis demonstrates that despite the varying scale of the examined universities, the specific opportunity cost for all the universities tends to decrease over time.