Publications

December 1996 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Kidder, Peabody & Co.: Creating Elusive Profits

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

On April 17, 1994, Kidder, Peabody & Co. announced a $350 million charge against earnings resulting from the discovery of false trading profits. That same day, the termination of Joseph Jett's employment with the company was made public. By illustrating the mechanics... View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Governance Controls; Crime and Corruption; Financial Reporting; Profit; Financial Strategy

October 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rio Tinto vs. the Securities and Exchange Commission

By: Aiyesha Dey, Krishna G. Palepu and Sarah Gulick

2016
Working Paper

Managers' Cultural Background and Disclosure Attributes

By: Francois Brochet, Gregory S. Miller, Patricia Naranjo and Gwen Yu

We examine how a manager’s ethnic cultural background affects managers’ communication with investors. Using a sample of earnings conference calls transcripts with 26,430 executives from 42 countries, we find that managers from ethnic groups that have a more... View Details

Keywords: Disclosure Tone; Individualism; Conference Calls; Ethnic Group; Management Style; Communication Intention and Meaning; Ethnicity; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Reporting

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October 1993 (Revised June 1997)
Case

Champion International

By: David F. Hawkins

Management must decide which first quarter's earnings numbers to report. The company is classified by its securities market as a "growth" company. The corporate controller prefers a quarterly earnings figure that represents a decline in earnings. View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Financial Reporting; Judgments; Leadership; Management Teams; Corporate Disclosure

November 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Case

BonneSante S.A.

By: David F. Hawkins

IASB and FASB propose new lease accounting rules and the owner of a French chain of fast food outlets is concerned about the impact on his company's balance sheets. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Policy; Standards; Leasing; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; France

Fast Answer

Field Course: Investing for Impact

and find the RMA reports under Industry Statistics. Available as Excel files.) Financial Modeling - Interactive financial modeling tools and guides: FactSet -... View Details

September 1995 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Intel Pentium Chip Controversy (A), The

By: V.G. Narayanan and James D Evans

Following Intel Inc.'s decision to replace flawed Pentium chips, the company faces revenue recognition choices. Events leading up to IBM's decision to halt shipment of computers that have Intel's microprocessor inside and Intel's decision to replace all the flawed... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Revenue Recognition; Computer Industry

August 2010
Supplement

Batson International, S.A. (C)

By: David F. Hawkins

Senior management must sign a management letter. An internal audit reveals a number of questionable accounting practices (B case). How should senior management respond? View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Managerial Roles; Standards; United States

August 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Shinsei Bank (D)

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Perry Fagan

One year later, Yashiro and his management team can be proud of the young bank's first-year results, but face a set of difficult implementation issues. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Restructuring; Management Systems; Management Teams; Success; Banking Industry

May 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

SOX-POX?

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Describes the experiences of audit committee chairmen in responding to and implementing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Teaching Purpose: To help students understand the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on audit committees. View Details

Keywords: Government Legislation; Financial Reporting; Laws and Statutes; Accounting Audits

November 1999
Background Note

Operating Segment Disclosures

By: David F. Hawkins

Discusses the accounting rules that govern operating segment disclosure. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Operations

Web

American Business History Records | Baker Library

German-born financier Henry Villard (1835-1900) played key roles in the financing of the transcontinental railroad and development of the electrical industry. R.G. Dun & Co. Credit Report Volumes Credit... View Details

08 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

A Bold Proposal for Investment Reform

acquired dot-com stocks that showed poor reported financial performance, and which they recognized were wildly overvalued. Fund managers owned 60 percent of Enron at its peak (and beyond) despite the... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

March 1973 (Revised October 1983)
Case

Stirling Homex (A)

Deals primarily with the basic issue of revenue recognition. Homex was recognizing revenue from its modular units prior to the date on which an actual sale had taken place. In addition, there are some interesting issues dealing with the allocation of profit between... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Resource Allocation; Revenue Recognition; Profit

August 2010
Supplement

Batson International, S.A. (B)

By: David F. Hawkins

A surprise internal audit of a division's accounting practices reveals a number of possible earnings management and accounting irregularities. View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Earnings Management; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Standards; United States

February 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson, Marco Iansiti and Akiko Kanno

Ricoh, the Japanese copier manufacturer, is committed to reducing its environmental impact to one-eighth of its 2000 levels by 2050. It has already introduced three stages of environmental awareness to its operations, and its recycled copier business broke even in... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Accounting; Financial Reporting; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Investment; Operations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Electronics Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

May 2006
Case

Nokia in 2003

By: Paul M. Healy

Examines the challenges facing a money manager who owns stock in Nokia, the leading wireless handset provider. Two analysts covering the stock make very different predictions about the economies of the industry, Nokia's future performance, and stock recommendations.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Forecasting and Prediction; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Evaluation; Problems and Challenges; Electronics Industry

Fast Answer

Field Course: Private Equity Projects and Ecosystems: Company, Industry, Market and Transaction Research

trend and forecast coverage across 10 major commercial real estate sectors, 275+ markets, and 3,000+ submarkets. Includes market transactions and performance trends. FactSet
A comprehensive platform used to analyze financial data... View Details

2008
Article

Governance and Merger Accounting: Evidence from Stock Price Reactions to Purchase versus Pooling

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

This paper examines the effect of corporate governance on investor reactions to accounting choice in the context of accounting for business combinations. Using a sample of 324 recent stock swap acquisitions I find that, contrary to practitioners' belief that capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Markets; Stocks; Price; Corporate Governance

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