Publications

01 Jun 2016
News

Imagine an Economy Without Wall Street

Photography by Bryce Vickmark In a recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, HBS Dean Nitin Nohria made a strong statement in defense of Wall Street and the financial system. Recalling his youth in... View Details

Keywords: Wall Street; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments

April 2004 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Enron Corporation: May 6, 2001 Sell Recommendation

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

A consulting firm to institutional investors recommends selling Enron Corp.'s equity short on May 6, 2001, while many sellside analysts are recommending the stock as a "buy." View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Financial Reporting; Investment; Competency and Skills; Financial Statements; Consulting Industry

March 1989 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Daniel Dobbins Distillery, Inc.

A distiller increases whiskey production and income declines because of accounting methods in use. Questions are raised regarding the treatment of expenditures which can be classified as production, inventory, or period costs. The necessary aging process raises added... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financing and Loans; Cost; Accounting; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2012
Case

Chapman International Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

Management must make some accounting policy decisions to reach first-quarter earnings consensus. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Decisions; Business Earnings; United States

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August 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Supplement

Urban Water Partners (A) (CW)

By: Karthik Ramanna and George Serafeim

The case explores a new venture to bring clean water to Tanzanians who otherwise cannot access or afford it. Management has enough money to get their company through August 2010, but needs more capital. An HBS alum is interested in investing in the company;... View Details

Keywords: Human Needs; Accrual Accounting; Financial Statements; Health Industry; Utilities Industry; Dar es Salaam

April 2011
Teaching Note

Leasing Decision at Magnet Beauty Products, Inc. (TN)

By: Krishna G. Palepu and George Serafeim

Teaching Note for 111039. View Details

Keywords: Leasing; Financial Statements; Accounting; Standards; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

September 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Supplement

Enman Oil, Inc. (E)

By: David F. Hawkins

Company pursues ways to reduce its debt to equity ratio by resorting to off balance sheet debt transactions. View Details

Keywords: Energy Sources; Capital Structure; Financial Statements; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

September 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Supplement

Enman Oil, Inc. (C)

By: David F. Hawkins

Company pursues ways to reduce its debt to equity ratio by resorting to off balance sheet debt transactions. View Details

Keywords: Energy Sources; Capital Structure; Financial Statements; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

June 1993 (Revised May 1997)
Case

SKA (Sweden)

By: David F. Hawkins

Management is debating a proposal to capitalize R&D. While Swedish GAAP permits capitalization, the general practice is to expense R&D as incurred. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Framework; Balanced Scorecard; Policy; Accounting Industry; Sweden

October 1998 (Revised January 1999)
Case

Echlin vs. SPX

By: Paul M. Healy, Bjorn N. Jorgensen and Penny Joseph

Echlin has received a hostile takeover offer from SPX. Both companies have been undertaking major restructurings, and Echlin's shareholders face a difficult decision of whether to support current management or sell out to SPX. Students are asked to analyze the two... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financial Statements; Business and Shareholder Relations

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March 1993 (Revised March 1994)
Case

Sierra On-Line, Inc. (A)

Sierra On-Line, a fast growing software developer, is criticized by a Forbes journalist for excessively capitalizing software development costs. In contrast to most other software developers that typically capitalize about 20% of R&D costs, Sierra capitalizes 80%.... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Financial Statements; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

January 2005
Tutorial

Buying Time

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Managers must frequently make decisions involving trade-offs between cash flows to be paid or received at different points in time. Accountants, in turn, must describe transactions that involve the payment and/or receipt of cash far in the future. This interactive... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Value; Interest Rates; Financial Statements

November 1990 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Circuit City Stores, Inc. (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Susan Harmeling

Circuit City sells consumer electronic equipment, appliances, and extended service and warranty contracts which supplement those provided by equipment manufacturers. Equipment is sold at low margins, while warranties carry very high margins. A question has been raised... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Cost; Profit; Financial Statements; Revenue; Marketing Strategy; Electronics Industry; Consumer Products Industry

November 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Background Note

A Brief Note on Deferred Taxes: An Analysis Perspective

Provides an overview of accounting for deferred taxes. The primary objective is to provide external users with a basic understanding of deferred taxes. A simple illustrative example is provided, which is followed by a discussion of several important issues likely to be... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Statements; Taxation; Legal Liability; Valuation