Publications

1998
Other Unpublished Work

Reporting Gaps in the United Kingdom: The Chief Executives Perspective

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr., Dave Phillips and Heather Richards

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Performance; United Kingdom

30 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 31, 2006

accountability standards and for monitoring them. The authors show how accountability frameworks attached to principal-agent logics and applied universally across cultures... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jun 2011
First Look

career in investment banking/investment management are associated with exposure drafts perceived as decreasing accounting "reliability"; and FASB members' affiliations with the Democratic Party are associated with proposing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2023 (Revised August 2024)
Background Note

Life Cycle Assessment: An Overview

By: Willy C. Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic approach to quantifying the environmental impacts—including resources consumed and wastes produced—associated with the entire life cycle of a product, from the production or extraction of the raw materials used in its creation,... View Details

Keywords: Life-cycle; Environmental Performance; Design; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Measurement and Metrics; Standards; Accounting; Environmental Accounting

Web

Contacts & Resources | Information Technology

would like to learn more about credit card merchant account guidelines and policies. Visit the Financial intranet site . If you wish to anonymously report areas of concern or non-compliance with policy.... View Details

15 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 15

nature of accounting standards proposed between 1973 and 2007. Among other results, we find that length of service on the board and a prior career in investment banking/investment management are associated... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Explaining China's Crash

seven-year high. The consequences were felt by financial markets everywhere. Q: Given how opaque China’s economy is, does anyone accurately know how deep or lasting this slowdown might be? A: The official numbers must indeed be taken with... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese; Financial Services

January 2022
Background Note

The Florange Law: Encouraging Long-Termism in Equity Markets?

By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Tonia Labruyere

This note provides background information on a French law (“the Florange law”) passed in 2014 that the French government said would encourage long-term shareholdings. The note describes the law, what led to it, the reactions it evoked, and similar initiatives in other... View Details

Keywords: Equity; Financial Markets; Investment Activism; Institutional Investing; Corporate Governance; Policy; Rights; Laws and Statutes; Business and Government Relations; Accounting Industry; France

11 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ’The Future of Boards’

Editor's note: The credit crisis and subsequent recession has thrown many financial and business institutions into, if not chaos, then at least a sense that the landscape underneath has shifted significantly. One institution undergoing... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Lorsch

March 1995
Background Note

Consolidated Statements

By: David F. Hawkins

Keywords: Financial Statements

Find at Harvard

18 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

No More General Tso's? A Threat to 'Knowledge Recombination'

South Africa in the late 19th century, they brought with them accounting practices such as “double-entry” bookkeeping, which changed the country’s financial system. More recently, hundreds of Soviet... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Accounting; Accounting; Accounting

25 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 25

the investor's and the investee's countries, affects the asset allocation decisions of global mutual funds. We find that investors tend to underweight investees with greater accounting distance. Using the mandatory adoption of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1987 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Patten Corp.

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Forbes Magazine criticized the revenue recognition policy of Patten Corp. As a result, the company's stock price dropped by a significant amount. The students are asked to discuss if the criticism by Forbes is justified, and if not, what the company should do. View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Statements; Budgets and Budgeting; Problems and Challenges; Financial Condition; Spending; Revenue; Planning; Quality; Stocks; Journalism and News Industry

March 2011 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Mittel Technologies, AG

By: David F. Hawkins

CFO of German heavy equipment manufacturer examines through company examples potential impact of proposed changes to revenue recognition rules. View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Manufacturing Industry; Germany

September 1976
Case

Del Norte Paper Co. (B)

By: William A. Sahlman

Serves two roles: first, provides a reasonably comprehensive description of an ongoing budgeting and reporting system for the international operations of a large American company. Second, allows the student to focus on and critically analyze a series of specific... View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Financial Reporting; Budgets and Budgeting; United States

05 May 2003
Research & Ideas

What It Takes to Restore Trust in Business

It's not in great shape, but it isn't doing too badly, and measured by the standards of the rest of the world it is a marvel and it's doing quite well," he observed. The financial sector is not perfect,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

August 2000 (Revised February 2001)
Background Note

Expense Recognition

By: Paul M. Healy and Preeti Choudhary

Recording expenses is not often clear-cut and can require considerable management judgment. This case discusses expense recognition in straightforward situations and then considers expense transactions that may be more complex to record. It uses examples that include... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Cost; Financial Statements