Publications

October 2008
Case

The Talbots, Inc., and Subsidiaries: Accounting for Goodwill

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

In 2006, Talbots, Inc., a specialty women's retailer, purchased a competitor, J. Jill. The transaction created a large goodwill account along with accounts for trademarks and other intangible assets. Using prevailing accounting standards (Statement of Financial... View Details

Keywords: FASB; Intangible Assets; Standards; Financial Statements; Goodwill Accounting; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

August 2005 (Revised October 2010)
Background Note

European Financial Integration

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Christopher Bruner

Provides background on the history and status of financial integration in the European Union. Describes the pertinent treaty-based "fundamental freedoms," emphasizes challenges to further cross-border consolidation in the banking sector, and examines the regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Financial Markets; Financial Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Integration; Banking Industry; European Union

2024
Working Paper

CSR Under the Pressure of Financial Shocks

By: Monica Kabutey, Syrena Shirley and Anywhere Sikochi

This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced firms' interactions with customers and suppliers. Customer-supplier relationships are essential because the success of interconnected firms affects the sustainability of the entire supply chain. We use the... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Supply Chain; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Crisis

Read Now

August 1978 (Revised October 1979)
Case

Grey Advertising/Canada Dry Account

After taking over Canada Dry's mixers account in 1966, Grey Advertising assembled a successful ad campaign that increased ginger ale sales significantly. But Canada Dry's market share for ginger ale and its other mixer products had remained the same or declined during... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Advertising Campaigns; Advertising Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

2013
Working Paper

The Appeal of the Appropriate: Accounting, Risk Management, and the Competition for the Supply of Control Systems

By: Anette Mikes

How do certain risk measurements in organizations come to be seen as more reliable and acceptable than others? Taking a multiple-control perspective, I investigate the aftermath of a control debacle at a financial services company (MultiBank), focusing on its insurance... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Multiple Control Systems; Interactive Control Systems; Performance Measurement; Risk Measurement; Financialization Of Accounting; Institutional Logics; Banking; Risk Management; Fair Value Accounting; Insurance; Financial Services Industry

Read Now

October 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Background Note

Accounting for Productivity Growth

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Introduces students to the arithmetic of the accounting for national productivity growth. It defines labor productivity, capital productivity, and total factor productivity, describes the relationships among them, and discusses the phenomena that cause them to change... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Macroeconomics; Analytics and Data Science; Government and Politics; Mathematical Methods; United States; Singapore

15 Jul 2020
News

Predictable financial crises

Article

On the Management of Financial Guarantees

By: Robert C. Merton and Z. Bodie

Keywords: Management; Finance

Find at Harvard

1982
Appendix

Financial Aspects of Antarctic Mineral Regimes

By: James K. Sebenius

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Mining Industry; Antarctica

June 2014
Supplement

Financial Policy at Apple, 2013 Student Supplement

By: Mihir Desai and Elizabeth A. Meyer

This is the student spreadsheet supplement to case 214-085, Financial Policy at Apple, 2013 (A). View Details

Keywords: Apple; Steve Jobs; Forecast; Forecasting; Forecasting And Prediction; Shareholder Activism; Share Repurchase; Dividends; Financial Ratios; Preferred Shares; Cash Distribution; Corporate Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Republic of Ireland

19 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Globalization of Corporate Environmental Disclosure: Accountability or Greenwashing?

Keywords: by Christopher Marquis & Michael W. Toffel

April 2011
Teaching Note

The Financial Crisis of 2008 (TN)

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull

Teaching Note for 709036. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis

Video

Personal Financial Planner

November 1994 (Revised November 2010)
Background Note

Financial Statement Analysis

By: David F. Hawkins

Covers basic financial analysis techniques. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Financial Statements

January 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Silicon Valley Bank: Gone in 36 Hours

By: Jung Koo Kang, Krishna G. Palepu, Charles C.Y. Wang and David Lane

This case examines factors contributing to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March 2023, an event as unpredicted as it was quick. SVB funded nearly half of all U.S. venture-backed startups and at the end of 2022 held $173 billion in deposits, largely... View Details