Publications

Find at Harvard

2014
Working Paper

Return on Political Investment in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004

By: Hui Chen, Katherine Gunny and Karthik Ramanna

Prior literature raises a "puzzle" of high rates of return on corporate political investment, but evidence for this puzzle is largely descriptive in nature. We exploit the setting of the American Jobs Creation Act's passage in 2004 to provide more robust estimates of... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Finance; United States

SSRN

November 1993
Supplement

Sierra On-Line (C): The Insiders' Perspective, An Interview with Ken and Roberta Williams

Presents the insiders' perspective using an interview format. Ken and Roberta Williams, Sierra's founders, discuss issues raised in the (A) and (B) cases and present their vision to become the world leader in educational software. Teaching Purpose: Analysts typically... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Financial Statements; Management Teams; Education Industry

1991
Article

How Management Bonus Plans Affect Reported Earnings

By: Paul M. Healy

Keywords: Management; Compensation and Benefits; Business Earnings

Find at Harvard

January 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Identifying Firm Capital Structure

Students are asked to link concealed balance sheets with firm descriptions. The case helps students understand how balance sheets reflect industry and firm characteristics. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Business Ventures; Capital Structure

July 2009 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Wareham SC Systems, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

CFO tests company's revenue recognition practices against the recently issued SAB 101 requirements and proposes plan for adoption of SAB 101. View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Standards

Article

Capital Allocation Hurdle Rates, Budgets or Both?

By: W. C. Kester and R. Taggart

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Capital; Budgets and Budgeting

Find at Harvard

October 1988 (Revised February 1990)
Case

HCC Industries

Describes a corporation that switches its philosophy of budgeting from "stretch" targets to "minimum performance standard" targets. The change has implications for management incentives, compensation, and corporate planning. Early results suggest the concept was not... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Budgets and Budgeting

1998
Other Unpublished Work

Value Reporting in Australia: Improving Competitiveness in Capital Markets

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr., Greg Morris and Ian Falconer

Keywords: Capital Markets; Financial Reporting; Competition; Australia

April 1942 (Revised December 1982)
Case

Dashman Co.

The vice president in charge of purchasing sends a letter to each of the company's 20 purchasing executives requesting that contracts made in excess of $10,000 be cleared with him prior to signing. The branches promise to cooperate, but no notices of negotiations are... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Accounting; Business Processes

01 Apr 2015
News

Scott Cook Announced as Class Day 2015 Speaker

01 Apr 2025
News

What We Learned in Three Charts: Misconduct, Migration, and Passion

Web

Supplemental Financial Information | Annual Report 2024

combined tuition and fees for the fiscal year remained lower than that of peer business schools. MBA tuition and fees accounted for 14 percent of total revenues in fiscal 2024, which is consistent with the prior year. Harvard Business... View Details

Fast Answer

HBS Course: Starting a Private Investment Firm

private investment lifecycle. Individual accounts are required to access. Strict data download limit. Preqin
Information on PE & VC firms, funds,... View Details

01 Jun 2003
News

Bottom-Line Discrepancies

particular, the changing nature of employee compensation. By taking these items into account, one could reconcile tax returns with accounting statements. In the last decade, however, a huge, unexplained difference between the two methods... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

28 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Shareholders Key to Corporate Reform

people are held accountable for their actions as individuals rather than as a group, they tend to weigh their choices more carefully.—Cynthia A. Montgomery and Rhonda Kaufman Make directors accountable to... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia A. Montgomery & Rhonda Kaufman

October 2009 (Revised January 2014)
Teaching Note

Genzyme Center (A), (B) & (C)

By: Michael W. Toffel

Teaching Note for [610008], [610009], and [610010]. View Details

Keywords: Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Environmental Operations; Environmental Protection; Environmental Regulation; Standard Setting; Standards; Environmental Accounting; Engineering; Governance; Energy; Economics; Operations; Projects; Social Enterprise; Infrastructure; Construction Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Real Estate Industry

January 2004 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Farmington Industries, Inc.: Managing Currency Exposure Risk

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

The December 20, 1994 Mexican devaluation creates U.S. dollar losses for an unprepared U.S. corporation with multiple operations in Mexico. View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Globalized Firms and Management; International Accounting; Currency; United States; Mexico

June 2000
Case

Hollydazzle.com

This case describes the unique underlying economics of a start-up Internet retailing company. It highlights the fact that costs in that setting have a component that varies with volume and thus seriously impacts profitability. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Retail Industry