Publications

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September 2013
Case

The Case of the Unidentified Industries—2013

By: Mihir A. Desai, William E. Fruhan Jr. and Elizabeth A. Meyer

Helps students to understand how the characteristics of a business are reflected in its financial statements. This case consists of an exercise in which students are given balance sheet data in percentage form and other selected financial data for companies in 14... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Accounting Statements; Ratio Analysis; Financial Statements; Finance

Educators

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29 Jan 2021
News

Holding Business to Account

Boston to meet with me,” she recalls with some amazement. “And I suddenly realized the power, the reach we had as shareholders.” Aiyer demonstrated to Albertsons that unfair employment practices were a financial liability, and the company... View Details

Article

A Framework for Research on Corporate Accountability Reporting

By: Karthik Ramanna

This paper provides an accounting-based conceptual framing of the phenomenon of corporate accountability reporting. Such reporting is seen as arising from a delegator's (e.g., a citizenry) demand to hold a delegate (e.g., shareholders) to account. When effective,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Value; Financial Reporting; Business and Shareholder Relations

Web

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage | Baker Library

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage Detailed descriptions of companies, industries, and mutual funds. Read More Company information includes a description of the company, stocks & bond issues, earnings estimates, dividend and split history and... View Details

Winter 2013
Article

Mandatory IFRS Adoption and Financial Statement Comparability

By: Francois Brochet, Alan Jagolinzer and Edward J. Riedl

This study examines whether mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) leads to capital market benefits through enhanced financial statement comparability. UK domestic standards are considered very similar to IFRS (Bae et al., 2008),... View Details

Keywords: IFRS; Comparability; Private Information; Insider Trading; Ethics; Standards; Financial Statements

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March 2010
Article

Correcting for Cross-Sectional and Time-Series Dependence in Accounting Research

By: Ian D. Gow, Daniel Taylor and Gaizka Ormazabal

We review and evaluate the methods commonly used in the accounting literature to correct for cross-sectional and time-series dependence. While much of the accounting literature studies settings in which variables are cross-sectionally and serially correlated, we find... View Details

Keywords: History; Cost of Capital; Activity Based Costing and Management; Performance Evaluation; Cost Accounting; Time Management; Research; Mathematical Methods; Equity; Borrowing and Debt; Accounting Audits; Accounting Industry

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January–February 2019
Article

Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance

By: Claudine Gartenberg, Andrea Prat and George Serafeim

We construct a measure of corporate purpose within a sample of U.S. companies based on approximately 500,000 survey responses of worker perceptions about their employers. We find that this measure of purpose is not related to financial performance. However, high... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Employee Motivation; Belief Systems; Corporate Performance; Human Capital; Middle Management; Culture; Corporate Culture; Meaning; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Employees; Perception; Values and Beliefs; Performance Effectiveness

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2022
Working Paper

The Evolution of ESG Reports and the Role of Voluntary Standards

By: Ethan Rouen, Kunal Sachdeva and Aaron Yoon

We examine the evolution of ESG reports of S&P 500 firms from 2010 to 2021. The percentage of firms releasing these voluntary disclosures increased from 35% to 86% during this period, although the length of these documents experienced more modest growth. Using a... View Details

Keywords: Voluntary Disclosure; Textual Analysis; Modeling And Analysis; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; AI and Machine Learning; Accounting

25 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Countries Adopt International Financial Reporting Standards?

Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna & Ewa Sletten; Accounting

Web

2.3 Community Standards of Conduct | MBA

2.3 Community Standards of Conduct It is the expectation of HBS that all students, whether or not they are on campus or are currently enrolled as degree candidates, will behave in a mature and responsible manner. This expectation for... View Details

October 2012
Case

Dispensers of California, Inc.

By: David A. Wilson and David Hawkins

An investor seeking capital must prepare projected financial statements for a new business. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statement Preparation; Accounting Process; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment; Financial Statements; Business Startups; Capital; California

Educators

April 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Fermenting Accounting Problems at Vermont Kombucha Corp.

By: Tatiana Sandino and Marshal Herrmann

Founded in 2005, Vermont Kombucha Corp. (V-Ko) was an early mover in the fledgling U.S. market for kombucha, a drink brewed for its health benefits. Early on, the company captured more than 90% of market share. Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Joe Williams,... View Details

Keywords: Going Public; Business Model; Financial Reporting; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Stock Shares; Food and Beverage Industry

Educators

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16 Jul 2020
News

Accounting for Real Change

Ronald Cohen (MBA 1969) Ronald Cohen (MBA 1969) In an opinion piece in the Financial Times, “Crisis Offers a Chance to Rewrite Accounting to Include Impact,” Sir Ronald Cohen (MBA 1969) writes that the... View Details

2014
Working Paper

Lobbying Behavior of Governmental Entities: Evidence from Public Pension Accounting Rules

By: Abigail Allen and Reining Petacchi

We examine the lobbying behavior of state governments in the development of recently issued public pension accounting standards GASB 67 and 68. Consistent with opportunistic motivations, we find that states' opposition to the liability increasing provisions embedded in... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Accounting Industry; United States