Publications

February 1993 (Revised May 1993)
Background Note

Responsibility Centers and Performance Measurement

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Introduces the concepts of responsibility centers and performance measurement. Expense centers, financial responsibilities such as profit centers, and investment centers are introduced, defined, and illustrated with simple examples. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Management Systems

December 2010
Supplement

Rackspace Hosting (2000)

By: W. Earl Sasser, James L. Heskett and Tom Ryder

The leadership team of Rackspace, faced with accommodation of its service offering and dwindling financial reserves, decides to make customer focus the rallying cry of its new strategy. View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Planning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Delivery; Strategy; Finance; Information Technology Industry

11 Dec 2014
News

Boston Medical Center, Tufts in merger talks

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 23 Oct 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Leading with Finance

Gain a deep understanding of the principles of finance - a toolkit for making smart financial decisions and the confidence to communicate those decisions to key stakeholders. Program Dates: October 23, 2019 - December 4, 2019 View Details

9 AM – 10 AM EDT, 27 Mar 2019
HBS Online

HBS Online Leading with Finance

Gain a deep understanding of the principles of finance - a toolkit for making smart financial decisions and the confidence to communicate those decisions to key stakeholders. Program Dates: March 27, 2019 - May 8, 2019 View Details

18 Mar 2020
News

Small Businesses To Washington: Please Send Money Soon Or We Won't Survive

01 Mar 2012
News

The Incentive Bubble

March 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Eliot Spitzer: Pushing Wall Street to Reform

By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Jonathan Schlefer

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer faced a decision about how to stop wrongdoing committed by major Wall Street firms during the Internet boom. The equities analysts of Merrill Lynch and other Wall Street firms were charged with objectively advising retail... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decisions; Financial Institutions; Stocks; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Laws and Statutes; Lawsuits and Litigation; Conflict of Interests; Internet; Financial Services Industry; United States

30 Jun 2020
News

Disruption Amidst Disruption: Fintech in the Age of Coronavirus

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

analysis was tax filings made with the US Internal Revenue Service, which is the most comprehensive and reliable source of nonprofit financial information. Our financial data reflects the year prior to the... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

18 Apr 2023
Blog Post

HBS Students and Alumni Fostering a Supportive Community

access to finances, although, ironically, students talk about money and profit and revenues in the classroom all the time.” Holly Fetter (MBA 2020) The Socioeconomic Inclusion Task Force, which comprised students, faculty, and staff from the MBA Program, Admissions,... View Details

February 1992 (Revised October 1996)
Case

CUC International, Inc. (A)

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Paul M. Healy

The case series examines the role of financial reporting and corporate finance policies as vehicles for communication between managers and outside investors. This case describes management's concern that the company's stock is undervalued because analysts viewed the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Stocks; Financial Management; Decisions; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Management Style; Management Practices and Processes; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value; Financial Services Industry

May 2013
Teaching Note

Coca-Cola: Residual Income Valuation

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Edward J. Riedl

Teaching note for a case of the same title that introduces students to the residual income (also known as the abnormal earnings) valuation model using the firm Coca-Cola. Students are provided with the primary financial statements (through fiscal 2010) and forecast... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; United States

October 1989 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Texas Eastman Co.

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The company as part of a commitment to Total Quality Management has installed a computer system that accumulates 30,000 observations on its processes every 2-4 hours. Operating people have found the monthly summaries of financial performance not too useful in this... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Information Technology; Reports; Business or Company Management

February 2003 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Susan Griffin: Formulation of a Long-Term Investment Strategy

By: Dwight B. Crane and Julia Stevens

Susan Griffin, owner and cofounder of a small manufacturing company, is formulating a long-term investment strategy. Griffin plans to sell her $10 million company and invest the revenue. She must decide how to allocate her investment so that she can rely entirely on... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Exit or Shutdown; Investment

01 Oct 2013
News

Lehman Brothers Plus Five: Have We Learned from Our Mistakes?

06 Apr 2009
News

Jamie Dimon to Deliver Keynote at 2009 Harvard Business School Class Day

March 1997
Case

Sensormatic Electronics Corporation-1995

By: Krishna G. Palepu and James Chang

Sensormatic is a leading provider of security systems to the retail industry. The company relies on customer financing as a key component of its strategy. The company's growth strategy and accountingis attacked by short-sellers and the financial press. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Valuation; Financial Reporting; Financing and Loans; Financial Statements; Business Strategy

Article

SOX after Ten Years: A Multidisciplinary Review

By: Suraj Srinivasan and John C. Coates IV

We review and assess research findings from 120+ papers in accounting, finance, and law to evaluate the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We describe significant developments in how the Act was implemented and find that despite severe criticism, the Act and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Laws and Statutes; United States