Publications

SSRN

Find at Harvard

August 2011
Teaching Note

Subprime Crisis and Fair-Value Accounting (TN)

By: Paul Healy, Krishna G. Palepu and George Serafeim

Teaching Note for 109-031. View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Mortgages; Standards; Financial Crisis

18 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 18, 2018

Case 119-030 Fair Value Accounting at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. In May 2018, Berkshire Hathaway announced an unprecedented loss of more than $1 billion for the first quarter of 2018. Warren Buffett blamed this... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

31 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 31

observed corporate accountability reports can be used to determine whether and how those reports create or destroy value for shareholders and other constituencies. Download the paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1934322 When Supply-Chain... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

14 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 14, 2007

on the Market's Valuation of R&D Capital Author:Michael D. Kimbrough Periodical:The Accounting Review 82, no. 5 (October 2007): 1195-1225 Abstract Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 141 (SFAS No. 141)'s requirement that an acquirer in a business... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions—preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Civil Society or Community; Japan; Tokyo

August 2002 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Electronic Arts Introduces The Sims Online

By: Youngme E. Moon

Electronic Arts (EA), the world's largest independent game publisher, is preparing to launch an online, subscription-based version of the most popular PC game in history: The Sims. The new game is called "The Sims Online" and it differs from the original game in two... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Decision Making; Price; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Internet; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Rent-Way, Inc. (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

The company uses the units of activity method to account for its rental inventory. A prominent hedge fund advisor recommends the company's stock be sold short. View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Stock Shares; Fair Value Accounting; Quality; Investment Funds; Service Industry

October 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Off-Balance Sheet Leases in the Restaurant Industry

By: Amy P. Hutton, Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen

Amid mounting concern by credit agencies about off-balance sheet liabilities, an analyst for one of the leading credit-rating agencies has been asked to make a presentation about off-balance sheet liabilities, the strategic analysis behind leasing versus purchasing... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Property; Leasing; Financial Statements; Capital Structure; Credit; Financial Services Industry

20 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, February 20, 2018

2018 New York: Cambridge University Press American Fair Trade: Proprietary Capitalism, Corporatism, and the 'New Competition', 1890–1940 By: Phillips Sawyer, Laura Abstract—American Fair Trade explores the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 1

Building on previous research, we argue that verifiability and conservatism, while detracting from accounting's role in equity valuation, are critical features of GAAP under efficient contracting. We recognize the advantage of using fair... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

DICOM Group plc and Captiva Software Corp.

By: Paul M. Healy

Compares two companies in the information capture software industry. Asks students to analyze and compare the performance of two companies (one in the United Kingdom and the other in the United States) from the perspective of a buy-side analyst reporting to the manager... View Details

Keywords: History; Financial Management; Environmental Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Financial Reporting; Performance; Performance Evaluation; Financial Statements; Economic Growth; Fair Value Accounting; Information Industry; Computer Industry; United Kingdom; United States

08 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Computer Science Principles Every Strategic Leader Needs to Know

of digital technology that can help leaders achieve their strategic priorities. It’s vital for managers to engage with some of the basics of computer science because “they give people a framework to think about the direction that technology will evolve and the... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology; Information Technology

March 2013
Case

NovaStar Financial: A Short Seller's Battle

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Amy Kaser

The NovaStar case describes the challenges faced by short seller Marc Cohodes of hedge fund Rocker Partners as he tried to expose what he thought was widespread fraud in mortgage lender NovaStar Financial. The case is set in the time period from 2001 to 2007 and tracks... View Details

19 Nov 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching The Moral Leader

respond, and the value of the topic in the business world. Sarah Jane Gilbert: What led to your interest to develop and teach The Moral Leader course? Sandra Sucher: My interest in the topic of moral leadership—the focus of The Moral... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Education

March 2000
Background Note

Transfer Pricing

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Discusses use of market prices, negotiated prices, variable costs, dual rate, and full costs for transfer prices. View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Cost Accounting; Price; Price Bubble; Negotiation; Cost Management; Cost of Capital; Financial Markets; Strategic Planning; Accounting Industry

December 2021
Case

Slice Labs: Creating a Fraud-free Online Insurance Platform

By: Amit Goldenberg, Max Bazerman and Ruth Page

"Slice Labs: Creating a Fraud-Free Online Insurance Platform" engages students with the challenge of how to influence other parties to not engage in fraud in the context of digital insurance. The case is centered around Slice, a digital insurance company that was... View Details

June 1987 (Revised August 1988)
Case

American Bank

By: Robert S. Kaplan

American Bank is developing a new system to compute product costs. The deregulated, more competitive environment for commercial banks has created both problems and opportunities for banking operations. In order to price existing products and assess the desirability of... View Details

Keywords: System; Consolidation; Commercial Banking; SWOT Analysis; Fair Value Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Banking Industry; North and Central America; United States

October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Accounting Red Flags or Red Herrings at Catalent? (A)

By: Joseph Pacelli, ZeSean Ali and Tom Quinn

Fund manager Janet Curie asked for a recommendation about the pharmaceutical company Catalent. The company seemed like a solid investment. However, a pair of research reports issued over the previous two months complicated this narrative. GlassHouse Research, a short... View Details