Publications

January 2008 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Wal-Mart's Use of Interest Rate Swaps

"Wal-Mart's Use of Interest Rate Swaps" recounts Wal-Mart's use of interest rate swaps to hedge the fair value of its fixed-rate debt against changing interest rates. This case provides students with a foundation for understanding the use of and accounting for more... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Statements; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Financial Strategy; Interest Rates; Corporate Disclosure

January 2005 (Revised March 2005)
Case

WorldCom, Inc.: Two Views

By: David F. Hawkins

Financial analysis is one way to detect WorldCom's fraudulent accounting. This case presents two perspectives of WorldCom: the company as viewed by security analysts and the inside view of the accounting fraud. Also looks at the company's acquisition accounting to... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Crime and Corruption; Accounting

June 1989 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Thumbs-Up Video, Inc.

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

A start-up video rental business is described to provide a basis for a bookkeeping and financial reporting exercise for an accounting course. Both start-up and operating transactions are included along with situations requiring judgments about depreciation policies and... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Financial Statements; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Financial Reporting; Accounting Industry

November 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Circuits, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

To allow students to compute and explain quarterly and annual earnings per share figures by using financial accounting standards No. 128. View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings

January 2003 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Boston Automation Systems, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

Daniel Fisher, the CFO of Boston Automation Systems, must review a number of revenue transaction accounting policies following the issuance of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Staff Accounting Bulletin 101, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements."... View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Policy; Financial Statements

February 2014
Teaching Note

Advising Families on Estate Planning

By: Robert C. Pozen

Sean Warrick is an estate planning adviser at Hellwig & Macon. He is preparing for meetings with two clients. His first clients are Peggy and David Bartley, a professional married couple of moderate wealth. His second clients are Ray and Michelle Polanski, a couple... View Details

Keywords: Estate Planning; Estate Tax; Gift Tax; Gift Giving; Generation Skipping Tax; Tax Accounting; Tax Strategy; Taxes; Taxation; Retirement; Financial Services Industry; United States

February 2018 (Revised June 2021)
Case

New Constructs: Disrupting Fundamental Analysis with Robo-Analysts

By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Kyle Thomas

This case highlights the business challenges associated with a financial technology firm, New Constructs, that created a technology that can quickly parse complicated public firm financials to paint a clearer economic picture of firms, remove accounting distortions,... View Details

Keywords: Fundamental Analysis; Machine Learning; Robo-analysts; Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Analysis; Information Technology; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry; North America; Tennessee

Paul Healy is the James R. Williston Professor at the Harvard Business School. His research covers a broad range of topics, including white collar crime, governance, business ethics, financial analysis, and Wall Street research. He joined the HBS faculty in 1998,... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; accounting industry; accounting industry

Charles C.Y. Wang

Charles C.Y. Wang is the Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) and an associate editor of Management Science and Journal of Accounting Research,... View Details

26 Sep 2019
Video

Reimagining Our Capitalist Markets

Tatiana Sandino

Tatiana Sandino is the Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Business Administration in the Accounting and Management Unit, most recently teaching and undertaking the role of course head for the required first-year MBA course Financial Reporting and Control. She has... View Details

Keywords: retailing; service industry

Susanna Gallani

Susanna View Details

Keywords: health care

Research Summary

Research Overview

Eddie Riedl's research focuses on two primary topics: fair value accounting, and international accounting settings.

Regarding fair value accounting, his research examines both the critical reporting choices that managers make, as well as... View Details

September 1992 (Revised September 2004)
Background Note

Liabilities and Time

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

An introduction to accounting for liabilities. Both current liabilities and long-term debts are described, and illustrations of bond interest calculations and financial reporting formats are included. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Legal Liability

July 1995 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Superior Clamps, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

An investor must prepare pro forma financial statements as a basis for a third-party investment in his new company. The investor must make a number of accounting policy decisions. View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Investment; Policy; Financial Statements; Business Startups; Manufacturing Industry

2017
Working Paper

Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey

By: Georgios Serafeim

Using survey data from a sample of senior investment professionals from mainstream (i.e., not SRI funds) investment organizations, we provide insights into why and how investors use reported environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. The primary reason... View Details

Keywords: Investment Management; Sustainability; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Investment Fund; Investment Strategy; Corporate Accountability; Activist Shareholder; Engagement; Environment; Climate Change; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Employee Engagement; Global Warming; Investment; Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Performance Expectations

SSRN

July 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Revenue Recognition at Stride Funding: Making Sense of Revenues for a Fintech Startup

By: Paul M. Healy and Jung Koo Kang

The case explores the challenges of revenue recognition and financial reporting for Stride Funding (Stride), a fintech startup that has disrupted the student loan market. Stride leveraged proprietary machine learning and financial models to underwrite alternative... View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Financial Reporting; Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Governance Compliance; Accrual Accounting; Financial Services Industry; United States