Publications

January 1999 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Advanced Technologies, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The CEO of a semiconductor equipment manufacturer is assessing the financial forecasts and financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Continued rapid growth will create substantial financing pressures, especially if profitability fails to recover and/or if... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Earnings Management; Financial Condition; Financial Reporting; Risk and Uncertainty; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Outcome or Result; Growth and Development; Crisis Management; Profit; Financial Strategy; Semiconductor Industry; Manufacturing Industry

December 1992 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Peoria Engine Plant (A)

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Amy P. Hutton

Describes the cost control system used at an automobile engine plant for labor and overhead costs. The finance staff prepares daily, weekly, and monthly variance reports against budgets. Department supervisors, finance staff, and the plant manager discuss the use and... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Cost Accounting; Budgets and Budgeting; Earnings Management; Reports; Financial Reporting; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry

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November 1999
Case

Seminis Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Jonathan West, Carin-Isabel Knoop and David Benedict Pearcy

Seminis became the world leader in vegetable seeds through a series of acquisitions. This case describes the Seminis strategy toward capturing value, biotechnology, and international operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Acquisition; Profit; Global Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Valuation; Value Creation; Biotechnology Industry

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11 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

Secrets of the Successful Businesswoman

decisions based on what's good for the business, McGovern agreed that this is easier said than done. The money we earn comes promptly and comes to us. —Josephine Baker, 1847 "These sound like the words of a simpleton," she said.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2010
Working Paper

Lawful but Corrupt: Gaming and the Problem of Institutional Corruption in the Private Sector

By: Malcolm S. Salter

This paper describes how the gaming of society's rules by corporations contributes to the problem of institutional corruption in the world of business. "Gaming" in its various forms involves the use of technically legal means to subvert the intent of society's rules in... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Civil Society or Community; Competitive Advantage; Earnings Management; Trust; Law; Performance; Investment Funds; Private Sector; Behavior; Relationships; Goals and Objectives

Read Now

04 Oct 2016
First Look

October 4, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51680 forthcoming Journal of Financial Economics What Do Measures of Real-Time Corporate Sales Tell Us About Earnings Surprises and Post-announcement Returns? By: Froot, Kenneth A., Namho... View Details

April 2005 (Revised October 2006)
Case

David Berman

By: Ananth Raman, Vishal Gaur and Saravanan Kesavan

Examines the decision of a hedge fund manager who is considering investing in a retail stock. The protagonist is concerned about the retailer's inventory level. Explores the relationship between the retailer's inventory and future earnings--and, hence, the relationship... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Stocks; Price; Supply Chain Management; Investment

23 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Status: When and Why It Matters

today. Looking at grand cru-classified wines of the vintages from 1991 to 2008, Malter found that the wines from the first class earned three times as much as wines from the second class, holding constant the quality of the focal bottle... View Details

Keywords: by 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

16 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 16, 2007

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=707022 Earnings Management Exercise Harvard Business School Exercise 207-034 Purchase this exercise: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=207034 EFJ,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 1977 (Revised September 1992)
Case

Sorenson Research Co. (Abridged)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Presents the issues facing a high volume, high margin (but lightweight) medical products business. The company is trying to improve its inventory control to reduce inventory investment and improve service. The present multi-site inventory system is described and major... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Investment; Volume; Service Delivery; Supply Chain; Performance Improvement; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

July 1989 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Kanthal (A)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Multinational company needs an improved cost system to determine the profitability of individual customer orders. Its strategy is to have significant sales and profitability growth without adding additional administrative and support people. The new cost system... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Earnings Management; Cost Management; Financial Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Business or Company Management; Customer Relationship Management; Sales; Business Strategy; Profit; Electronics Industry

27 Aug 2007
Op-Ed

Mattel: Getting a Toy Recall Right

should survive. The CEO knows that Mattel's brand trust—built up over 62 years—is at stake, just ahead of the holiday selling season. And with 80 percent of U.S. toys sourced from China, other U.S. toy marketers are under equal scrutiny; if similar problems surface at... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Consumer Products

Article

Signaling Firm Performance Through Financial Statement Presentation: An Analysis Using Special Items

By: Edward J. Riedl and Suraj Srinivasan

This paper investigates whether managers' presentation of special items within the financial statements reflects economic performance or opportunism. Specifically, we assess special items presented as a separate line item on the income statement (income statement... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Financial Statements; Economics; Performance; Research; Opportunities; Business Earnings; Motivation and Incentives

SSRN

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December 1999 (Revised April 2002)
Case

International Business Machines Corporation (A)

By: David F. Hawkins

Perform financial ratio analysis to identify changes in IBM's business mix and profitability. Teaching purpose: Ratio analysis. View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Capital Structure; Performance Efficiency; Business Earnings; Business Model; Private Sector; Commercialization; Computer Industry; Accounting Industry

29 Sep 2011
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Leveraging Intellectual Property

file-sharing remains largely unexplored in academic research. Are There Established Practices For Preventing Ip Theft In Other Countries? Protecting against the Pirates of Bollywood Hollywood's earnings in India have largely been... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

05 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

Understanding the Process of Innovation

feedback on every idea, his reputation for deep knowledge, and the impressive industry contacts he's acquired have earned him a loyal following: his idea-generation process yields 200 interesting concepts a month. The Winnowing Phase The... View Details

Keywords: by Loren Gray

05 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

Are Stockbrokers Illegally Leaking Confidential Information to Favored Clients?

strategy, thus earning higher returns themselves—to the detriment of the rest of the market, which was not privy to the leak. “It’s a huge issue, because it hurts the investors who try to implement their investment ideas and puts the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

August 2024
Case

Quickmart: Sustaining Growth in a Challenging Economic Environment

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Kuria Kamau

In July 2023, Peter Kang’iri, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Quickmart, Kenya’s second-largest retail chain, sat in his Nairobi office reviewing the company’s first half financial results before the weekly executive committee (EXCO) meeting. The company was in... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Supply Chain; Logistics; Business Strategy; Expansion; Business Earnings; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa; Kenya; Nairobi