Publications

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

February 2003 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Arthur Andersen LLP

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

This case highlights the history of Arthur Andersen and the collapse of the firm following the Enron Corp. audit and the Department of Justice obstruction of justice conviction. View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Financial Statements; Business Exit or Shutdown; Lawfulness; United States

03 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

The Competitive Advantage of Global Finance

common mistakes made by international managers, and the development of his book for readers interested in "the opportunities of managing in a global setting." Sean Silverthorne: International Finance and its case studies explore various dimensions of View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

16 Sep 2015
Op-Ed

The Real Duty of the Board of Directors

interests of the corporation itself. As one of us responded in a recent interview with John Authers of the Financial Times, “The shareholders don’t actually own the corporation. They own shares in the corporation. The corporation owns... View Details

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles & Tim Youmans

November 1999 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

Accounting for Foreign Operations

By: David F. Hawkins

Students are required to compute and explain the quality annual earnings per share figures and major differences between managing domestic and global operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Financial Statements; International Accounting; Globalized Firms and Management

November 2000 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Blaine and Mason, LLP: Gross Versus Net Revenue Reporting (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

The managing partners of a public accounting firm must resolve a number of staff requests for assistance in deciding how audit clients should report their revenues. Each example explores whether revenues should be reported on a gross or net basis. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Accounting Audits; Business Earnings; Budgets and Budgeting; Financial Reporting; Revenue; Accounting Industry

Fast Answer

Companies: small or private

Where can I find information on small and/or private companies? Information on private companies in the U.S. is hard to come by, particularly financial information, and many sources that provide revenue data are unreliable for particular... View Details

December 1999 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Standard International Inc. (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

The company top management must make a series of accounting decisions that will determine the company's quarterly income. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Inflation and Deflation; International Finance; Research and Development; Accounting Industry

19 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Unlocking Your Investment Capital

extreme, poorly implemented risk management can lead to the firm's demise. Under Sarbanes-Oxley 404, both the CEO and CFO have to attest with personal liability to the accuracies of the financial statements... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

Professors Introduce Valuation Software

have extended its generality and output to really help a broader user to take advantage of the insights that it provides. Q: How does the tool work? A: The tool requires users to input financial statements... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2008
Article

Governance and Merger Accounting: Evidence from Stock Price Reactions to Purchase versus Pooling

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

This paper examines the effect of corporate governance on investor reactions to accounting choice in the context of accounting for business combinations. Using a sample of 324 recent stock swap acquisitions I find that, contrary to practitioners' belief that capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Markets; Stocks; Price; Corporate Governance

SSRN

01 Mar 2010
News

Students Assist Needy Family

A Boston family threatened with homelessness got a financial lift from more than seventy HBS students just before Thanksgiving. In response to an e-mail campaign launched by roommates Grace Simmons and Jennifer Kelm (both HBS ’10), their... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

January 1998 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Alert: This case has been revised since its original publication; all amounts have been converted to euros and the dates have been updated to 2020. If you’ve taught with this case in the past, please note that changes may affect teaching plans and classroom use. Using... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Profit; Financial Statements; Food and Beverage Industry; Italy

16 Sep 2010
News

Idea Takes Root

early August to lead the effort — the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC). Eccles is a leading voice in support of integrating financial and nonfinancial information into a single report to ensure sustainable business... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Corporate Services

May 2009
Supplement

Ceres Gardening Company: Funding Growth in Organic Products, Spreadsheet for Instructors (Brief Case)

By: John H. McArthur and Joel L. Heilprin

Keywords: Accounting Procedures; Marketing; Business Growth; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Channels; Financial Statements; Sales

May 2009
Teaching Note

Ceres Gardening Company: Funding Growth in Organic Products (Brief Case)

By: John H. McArthur and Sunru Yong

Teaching Note to 4017. View Details

Keywords: Accounting Procedures; Marketing; Business Growth; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Channels; Financial Statements; Sales

27 Oct 2017
News

Two HBS Alumni to Lead Carlyle Group

will become co-executive chairmen. “We are fully committed to and confident in the firm’s future and will continue to be substantial investors in Carlyle funds for years to come,” the founders of the 30-year-old private equity firm said in a View Details

May 2009 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Areva

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

Areva, the world's market leader in civilian nuclear power, was positioned to take advantage of the resurgence of nuclear power. However, three issues clouded the positive outlook: (1) a 1.7 billion euro loss on the construction of the first next generation nuclear... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Financial Statements; Energy Generation; Cash Flow; Investment; Energy Industry; Europe