Publications

September 2023
Supplement

Accelerating with Caution: Forecasting and Managing birddogs’ Growth (B)

By: Mark Egan

As 2017 was drawing to a close, birddogs’ founder and CEO, Peter Baldwin, was working with his CFO Jack Sullivan to prepare for 2018. Their task at hand? To predict the demand for their product in the coming season, determine the appropriate investments in working... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Expansion; Production; Apparel and Accessories Industry

17 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 17

of intermediaries create safe "money-like" claims, they go about this in different ways. Traditional banks create money-like claims by holding illiquid fixed-income assets to maturity, and they rely on deposit insurance and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 15, 2009

Policies that would create net benefits for society but would also involve costs frequently lack the necessary support to be enacted because losses loom larger than gains psychologically. To reduce the harmful consequence View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2000 (Revised February 2001)
Background Note

Expense Recognition

By: Paul M. Healy and Preeti Choudhary

Recording expenses is not often clear-cut and can require considerable management judgment. This case discusses expense recognition in straightforward situations and then considers expense transactions that may be more complex to record. It uses examples that include... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Cost; Financial Statements

March 1991 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Berkshire Partners

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Berkshire Partners is a limited partnership engaged in the acquisition of companies valued between $25 million and $250 million. The purpose of the case is to examine the resources of the firm and discuss the firm's competitive advantage vis-a-vis other types of... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Advantage; Acquisition; Corporate Finance

December 2000 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Machinery International (B)

By: David F. Hawkins

An assistant is asked to prepare illustrative derivative and hedge accounting examples for the audit committee. Students are required to complete the examples. Teaching Purpose: Introduces students to the basics of derivative and hedge accounting. View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Machinery and Machining; Activity Based Costing and Management; Currency; Cost Management; Financial Statements; Construction Industry; Accounting Industry; United States

Profile

Philipp Schäelli

Why was earning your MBA at HBS important to you? I wanted to do an MBA for three main reasons: 1) Making the next step in my career, 2) Broaden my academic footing and 3) Expand my network of friends that follow a business career. From... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity; Venture Capital / Private Equity

March 1993 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Viscotech, Inc.

Focuses on the efforts of a small company to raise funds in a variety of ways. In the course of its efforts to raise equity capital, the company commits a number of SEC violations. The case includes an example of both a poor, aggressive offering circular and a tightly... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Equity; Financing and Loans; Lawfulness

17 Nov 2015
First Look

November 17, 2015

Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50066 Cost of Experimentation and the Evolution of Venture Capital By: Ewens,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 30, 2020
Article

Bipartisan Tax-Free Solution to Health Care Financing: Coupling HRAs With a Public Option

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Richard Boxer and James Wallace

A combination of health insurance initiatives by the presumptive 2020 Democratic and Republican presidential nominees could expand health care coverage and significantly reduce costs, without raising taxes. Along the way, the combination could revitalize private... View Details

Keywords: Health Care Financing; Public Option; Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA); Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Cost Management

Read Now

May 2009 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Depreciation at Delta Air Lines: The "Fresh Start"

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

In estimating depreciation for accounting purposes, Delta Air Lines has changed its assumptions about aircraft lifespan and residual values four times in the last thirty years or so. In the most recent changes, Delta adopted fair value accounting as part of its fresh... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Policies; Accounting Procedures; Depreciation; Bankruptcy; Cost Accounting; Financial Reporting; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Policy; Air Transportation Industry

Article

Operational Efficiency and Effective Management in the Catheterization Laboratory

By: Grant W. Reed, Michael L. Tushman and Samir R. Kapadia

Operational efficiency is a core business principle in which organizations strive to deliver high-quality goods or services in a cost-effective manner. This concept has become increasingly relevant to cardiac catheterization laboratories, as insurers move away from... View Details

Keywords: Cath Lab; Catheterization Laboratory; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Efficiency; Management; Performance Productivity; Cost Management; Health Industry