Publications

October 2018
Supplement

JetBlue: Relevant Sustainability Leadership (B)

By: George Serafeim and David Freiberg

The case outlines JetBlue's decision to disclose according to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards and the ESG metrics they began reporting. Data on resulting changes in institutional ownership are also provided. View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Metrics; Leadership And Change Management; Airlines; Innovation; Purpose; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Sustainability Reporting; Change Management; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Financial Reporting

2008
Working Paper

Consequences of Voluntary and Mandatory Fair Value Accounting: Evidence Surrounding IFRS Adoption in the EU Real Estate Industry

By: Karl A Muller III, Edward J. Riedl and Thorsten Sellhorn

We examine the causes and consequences of European real estate firms' decisions to provide investment property fair values prior to the required disclosure of this information under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We find evidence that investor... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Corporate Disclosure; Standards; Real Estate Industry; European Union

Read Now

September 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Silic (A): Choosing Cost or Fair Value on Adoption of IFRS

By: David F. Hawkins, Vincent Marie Dessain and Andrew Barron

A French real estate firm must choose to report its primary asset (investment property) using either cost or fair-value accounting methods upon adoption of international accounting standards (IAS) in 2005. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Investment; Standards; Real Estate Industry; France

June 2016
Supplement

Supply Chain Finance at Procter & Gamble Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Scott Mayfield and David Lane

In April 2013, Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world’s largest consumer packaged goods (CPG) company, announced that it would extend its payment terms to suppliers by 30 days. At the same time, P&G announced a new supply chain financing (SCF) program giving suppliers the... View Details

November 2009 (Revised August 2013)
Case

IFRS in China

By: Karthik Ramanna, G.A. Donovan and Nancy Dai

In 2005, China announced plans to "converge with," but not completely adopt, IFRS. China also began to lobby for changes to specific IFRS provisions, such as for related party disclosures by state-owned firms, to bring them more into line with Chinese interests.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Corporate Disclosure; Standards; State Ownership; Business and Government Relations; China

23 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

After High-Profile Failures, Can Investors Still Trust Credit Ratings?

“soft” adjustments, analysts give an opinion about the “ability and willingness” of the issuer to repay investors who purchase debt securities, according to Standard & Poor’s. Major credit rating agencies include Moody’s and Fitch.... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

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

March 2001 (Revised April 2001)
Case

General Electric 2000: Quality of Earnings Assessment

By: David F. Hawkins

A financial analyst reviews General Electric's financial reports to learn more about U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and how they differs from international accounting standards. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Accounting Audits; International Accounting; Consumer Products Industry; Technology Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

06 Jan 2006
News

Made to Measure Is the Best Fit for Future Pensioners

01 Feb 2018
News

Ignore environmental, social and governance risks at your peril

January 2003 (Revised February 2011)
Tool

Business Analysis and Valuation Model (Version 5)

By: Paul M. Healy, Krishna G. Palepu and Jonathan Barnett

Once you enter company financial statements, this software enables you to standardize them to a common format, make any needed adjustments to the company's accounting, and make assumptions about the company's future performance. The model then provides financial ratios... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Standards; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

March 2015
Case

Statoil: Transparency on Payments to Governments

By: George Serafeim

The Statoil case describes the challenge of increasing transparency, in extractive industries, around host county government payments. The case describes Statoil's reasoning behind voluntarily disclosing host country government payments, and the events that led to this... View Details

Keywords: Corruption; Disclosure; Disclosure Strategy; Regulation; Industry Self-regulation; Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Bribery; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Government Legislation; Cost vs Benefits; Corporate Disclosure; Mining; Mining Industry; United States

Jonas Heese is... View Details

Suraj Srinivasan

Suraj Srinivasan is the Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Business Administration, a member of the Accounting and Management faculty unit, and chair of the View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; accounting industry

31 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Stock Price Synchronicity and Material Sustainability Information

Keywords: by Jody Grewal, Clarissa Hauptmann, and George Serafeim; Accounting; Accounting

November 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Australian Vintage Ltd.

By: David F. Hawkins

Following International Financial Reporting Standards guidance company records a number of significant losses and a related deferred tax asset. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; International Accounting; Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Taxation; Business or Company Management; Asset Management; Assets; Financial Management; Standards; Australia

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

shows. Despite scrutiny of overdraft fees during the financial crisis more than a decade ago, some banks still reorder checking account debits so that the largest amounts, rather than the earliest debits... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

February 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

PCAOB, The (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Kim Bettcher

Members of the Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board--a private-sector, nonprofit body created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002--must determine the form and content of a new auditing standard on internal control that will fulfill the requirements of Section 404 of the... View Details

Keywords: Law; Financial Reporting; Corporate Governance; Standards; Government Administration; Accounting Audits