Publications

April 2022
Supplement

MicroStrategy: Accounting for Cryptocurrency (B)

By: Jonas Heese and Annelena Lobb

In early 2022, the technology firm MicroStrategy unveiled a series of letters with the SEC that questioned its accounting practices around its holdings of Bitcoin. Since 2020, the firm had shifted its strategy to include not just selling software but buying and holding... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Bitcoin; Holding Structures; SEC; Accounting; Finance; Financial Strategy; Technology Industry

February 2014
Article

Accountability of Independent Directors—Evidence from Firms Subject to Securities Litigation

By: Francois Brochet and Suraj Srinivasan

We examine which independent directors are held accountable when investors sue firms for financial- and disclosure-related fraud. Investors can name independent directors as defendants in lawsuits, and they can vote against their re-election to express displeasure over... View Details

Keywords: Independent Directors; Litigation Risk; Class Action Lawsuits; Director Accountability; Reputation; Boards Of Directors; Corporate Governance; Debt Securities; Corporate Accountability; Lawsuits and Litigation

SSRN

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January 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Background Note

Shareholders' Equity: Accounting and Analysis

By: David F. Hawkins

Technical note covering various aspects of accounting for stockholders' equity. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Equity; Stocks

October 1991 (Revised May 1993)
Background Note

Brief Introduction to Cost Accounting

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Introduces the reasons for and basics of cost accounting and cost management systems. Simple definitions of forms used in cost accounting are included. Cost behavior is discussed. Questions to which answers are needed when analyzing or designing a cost system are... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Cost Management

Research Summary

Accountability in the World Bank

This research, now complete, examines the roles of civil society actors in advocating for greater accountability at the World Bank at three levels of decision-making: (1) the project level, (2) the policy level, and (3) the board governance level. The research finds... View Details

November 1996 (Revised March 2001)
Background Note

National Income Accounting

Introduces the concept of national income accounting. This note: 1) defines GDP and provides examples; 2) discusses the differences between GDP and GNP; 3) presents both the expenditure and income decompositions of GDP; and 4) defines the relationships among net... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Macroeconomics

December 1998
Case

Origins of National Income Accounting

By: David A. Moss and Joseph P Gownder

Set in the Great Depression, this case explores the origins of national income accounting in the United States. Highlights Senator La Follette's 1932 proposal for the federal government to begin collecting national income statistics. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Crisis; Analytics and Data Science; Mathematical Methods; United States

March 2019
Case

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (Abridged)

By: Julie Battilana and Michael Norris

In 2014, as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) has just brought former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on as chairman of the board, Jean Rogers, founder and CEO, struggles with how best to ensure the nonprofit’s financial sustainability while... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting; Reporting; Environmental Sustainability; Accounting; Accounting Industry; United States

December 1984 (Revised May 1988)
Case

Comprehensive Accounting Corp.--1982

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January 2019
Editorial

Accounting for Time

By: Ashley Whillans and Hanne Collins

Keywords: Time Management; Valuation; Happiness

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October 2004 (Revised January 2006)
Tutorial

Introduction to Responsibility Accounting Systems

By: David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens

Responsibility accounting systems generate financial and related nonfinancial information about the actual and planned activities of a company's responsibility centers--organizational units headed by managers responsible for a unit's performance. The principal... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Cost Accounting; Governance Controls; Financial Reporting; Performance Evaluation; Budgets and Budgeting; Planning

October 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Background Note

Accounting for Productivity Growth

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Introduces students to the arithmetic of the accounting for national productivity growth. It defines labor productivity, capital productivity, and total factor productivity, describes the relationships among them, and discusses the phenomena that cause them to change... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Macroeconomics; Analytics and Data Science; Government and Politics; Mathematical Methods; United States; Singapore

February 2025 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Accounting for Bitcoin at Block

By: Charles C.Y. Wang, Seil Kim and Sa-Pyung Sean Shin

Abstract: This case explores Block Inc.'s accounting practices for Bitcoin transactions and their impact on financial reporting. Following a 10% stock price drop after missing revenue estimates in Q3 2024, Block faced scrutiny over its Bitcoin-driven revenue model.... View Details

Keywords: Cryptocurrency; Bitcoin

August 1978 (Revised October 1979)
Case

Grey Advertising/Canada Dry Account

After taking over Canada Dry's mixers account in 1966, Grey Advertising assembled a successful ad campaign that increased ginger ale sales significantly. But Canada Dry's market share for ginger ale and its other mixer products had remained the same or declined during... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Advertising Campaigns; Advertising Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

2010
Chapter

The Many Faces of Nonprofit Accountability

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

Calls for greater accountability are not new. Leaders of organizations, be they nonprofit, business, or government, face a constant stream of demands from various constituents demanding accountable behavior. But what does it mean to be accountable? By and large,... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Corporate Accountability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Taxation; Leadership; Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Behavior; Trust

April 2011 (Revised June 2012)
Background Note

Note on U.S. Pension Accounting

By: Robert C. Pozen and Brij Khurana

The purpose of this note is to describe the manner in which publicly traded corporations and local governments in the United States account for their pension plans. View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Accounting; United States

May 1985
Background Note

Basic Accounting Concepts

By: David F. Hawkins

Keywords: Accounting

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2018
Other Teaching and Training Material

Financial Accounting Reading: Shareholders' Equity

By: Suraj Srinivasan

Core Curriculum Readings in Financial Accounting cover the fundamental concepts in financial accounting. Many readings include videos and Interactive Illustrations to help students master complex concepts.
This is a standalone reading designed to introduce... View Details

Keywords: Shareholders' Equity; Accounting; Financial Statements