Publications

18 Nov 2002
Research & Ideas

Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value Shift

conflicts of interest, myriad examples of bribery and extortion, unfair and predatory competition, theft and misappropriation of information, civic View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

'GEnron'? Markopolos versus General Electric (A)

By: Jonas Heese and David Lane

In August 2019, Harry Markopolos—the forensic accountant known for uncovering Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme—alleged that General Electric had committed accounting fraud totaling $38 billion, coining the term “GEnron” for perceived similarities with the 2001 accounting... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Communication; Energy; Financial Condition; Insurance; Performance; Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Value; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

22 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Audit Quality and Auditor Reputation: Evidence from Japan

Keywords: by Douglas J. Skinner & Suraj Srinivasan

January 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Supplement

Kanebo Ltd. (C)

By: David F. Hawkins, Suraj Srinivasan and Akiko Kanno

The exposure of the Kanebo Ltd. fraud raises questions of Japan's preparedness to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards. View Details

Keywords: International Accounting; Standards; Financial Reporting; Crime and Corruption; Japan

02 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

Why We Still Need Twitter: How Social Media Holds Companies Accountable

event. Does financial misconduct slip through the cracks? Interestingly, the misconduct that was uncovered tended to involve non-financial misdeeds, including violations... View Details

Keywords: by Kasandra Brabaw; Technology

24 Oct 2016
Research & Ideas

Bernie Madoff Explains Himself

amount of uninterrupted call time that the prison would allow. The professor and the felon shared a genuine, geeky interest in financial economics. Sometimes they discussed the early days of Madoff’s career,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

September 1986 (Revised February 1991)
Case

Graves Industries, Inc. (C): Consumer Hardware Division

Describes events occurring over a three-year period in a division of Graves Industries. The division is being squeezed for profit, and managers in the division get involved in some fraudulent financial reporting schemes involving revenues and capitalization of... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Financial Reporting

2016
Chapter

Dishonesty Explained: What Leads Moral People To Act Immorally

By: F. Gino and D. Ariely

The last two decades have witnessed what seems to be an increasing number of cases of dishonesty, from corporate corruption and employee misconduct to questionable behaviors during the financial crisis and individual acts of unethical behavior in many spheres of... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Ethics; Organizations; Attitudes; Financial Crisis

Find at Harvard

March 2008
Supplement

Ujjivan: A Microfinance Institution at a Crossroads (B)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Pamela Freed

Case (B) of "Ujjivan: A Microfinance Institution at a Crossroads" addresses some of the actions Ujjivan, a microfinance provider in Bangalore, has taken with regard to issues raised in the (A) case, particularly regarding fraud and establishing financial... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Microfinance; Crime and Corruption; Accounting Audits; Product Development; Financial Services Industry; Bangalore

05 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 5, 2017

forthcoming Journal of Financial Economics The Effects of Media Slant on Firm Behavior By: Baloria, Vishal P., and Jonas Heese Abstract—The media can impose reputational costs on firms because of its... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

A Politician's Investment Portfolio Might Tip Off Corruption Potential

look at portfolios because that’s a natural way to measure risk, and then we needed an area where we could actually observe some scandals and misconduct happening,” Minor says.... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

January 2024
Case

Post-Wirecard: BaFin under Mark Branson

By: Jonas Heese, Carlota Moniz and Daniela Beyersdorfer

In November 2023, Mark Branson, the head of Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), reflected on the efficacy of the reforms initiated since the Wirecard scandal. BaFin had been discredited after Wirecard’s downfall in 2020. The press had derided it... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Crime and Corruption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Administration; Failure; Trust; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Germany

31 Oct 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 31, 2017

forthcoming Journal of Political Economy The Market for Financial Adviser Misconduct By: Egan, Mark, Gregor Matvos, and Amit Seru Abstract—We construct a novel database... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

19 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 19, 2019

financially benefit most from home delivery are more likely to choose it. Those who benefit least from insurance subsidies are more likely to make no active choice and lose those subsidies. The implicit... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

alleging that the company had misstatements in its financial reports. Mayhem’s report involved IGT’s practice of refurbishing used parts in one of its reporting segments and then transferring those parts to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 2011 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Sino-Forest (A)

By: David F. Hawkins and David Lane

Chinese company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange is accused of fraud by a hedge fund. View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Crime and Corruption; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; China

October 2012 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Olympus (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch, Suraj Srinivasan and Kathleen Durante

As 2012 approached, the woes of the financial crisis seemed to be fading, companies were resuming business as usual, and some of the scrutiny on corporate governance practices began to recede as well. That is until another major financial scandal emerged in Japan in... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Electronics Industry; Health Industry; Japan

September 2024
Case

Comun: Partners in Peril

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alexis Lefort

In spring 2023, Abiel Gutierrez and Andres Santos, co-founders of Comun, faced a critical decision at their fintech startup serving Latino immigrants. Having launched their product the previous year, they experienced rapid growth but encountered rising fraud and... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Development; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Partners and Partnerships; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Latin America; United States