Financial Audits - Publications - Faculty & Research

October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Accounting Red Flags or Red Herrings at Catalent? (A)

By: Joseph Pacelli, ZeSean Ali and Tom Quinn

Fund manager Janet Curie asked for a recommendation about the pharmaceutical company Catalent. The company seemed like a solid investment. However, a pair of research reports issued over the previous two months complicated this narrative. GlassHouse Research, a short... View Details

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08 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

Are Paywalls Saving Newspapers?

jobs across the country and a slew of mergers and acquisitions as companies struggle to regain financial footing. As of 2015, 78 percent of US print media firms with a daily circulation of over 50,000 were using a digital subscription... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Journalism & News; Media & Broadcasting

09 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Industry Self-Regulation: What’s Working (and What’s Not)?

technological language between suppliers and customers. These standards are primarily business-to-business programs that can be certified by independent agents, similar to how external financial auditors certify a company's View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

30 Jul 2001
What Do You Think?

What’s the Future of Corporate Governance?

adaptability of the organization over time. As he put it, "By focusing too strongly on financial records (and audit committee work), we lose sight of the fact that departments like operations and human... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

24 Feb 2022
Op-Ed

Want to Prevent the Next Hospital Bed Crisis? Enlist the SEC

transparency on their slice of the pie. Trustworthiness. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the SEC, the 1933 law was often called the “Truth in Securities Act.” The SEC has helped build trust by requiring auditing of View Details

Keywords: by Regina Herzlinger and Richard Boxer; Health

September 2020
Case

An Introduction to Money Laundering: 'The Hunter'

By: Eugene Soltes, Guilhem Ros and Grace Liu

Money laundering schemes disguise the criminal origins of an estimated 2% to 5% of the world’s gross domestic product. Money laundering not only enables criminals to escape detection, but may also be used to finance further criminal operations including terrorism. This... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Accounting Audits; Financial Reporting; Financial Institutions; Banks and Banking; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governance Controls; International Relations; National Security; Ethics; Accounting Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Europe

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27 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 27

ideas across academic communities. The Predictive Value of Accruals and Consequences for Market Anomalies Authors:Francois Brochet, Seunghan Nam, and Joshua Ronen Publication:The Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance (forthcoming)... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 27

January 2015 Journal of Financial Stability The Capital Purchase Program and Subsequent Bank SEOs By: Khan, Mozaffar N., and Dushyantkumar Vyas Abstract—We find that in the aftermath of the recent financial... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 16

between bundling and indirect network effects, we find that they act as substitute strategies, with a lower relative effectiveness for bundling when network effects are stronger. 2013 pub From Social Control to Financial Economics: The... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

18 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 18

anticorruption ratings are domiciled in countries with low corruption risk ratings and strong anticorruption enforcement, operate in high corruption risk industries, have recently faced a corruption enforcement action, employ a Big Four View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2005
Teaching Note

Accounting Fraud at WorldCom (TN)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Teaching Note to (9-104-071). View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Accounting; Crime and Corruption; Governing and Advisory Boards; Telecommunications Industry

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24 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Boards and Corporate Governance: A Balanced Scorecard Approach

Board Scorecard, and the Executive Scorecard. These Scorecards clarify goals, priorities, processes, and ownership, and define the linkages between desired financial results and the actions needed to achieve them. Context Professor Palepu... View Details

Keywords: Re: Robert S. Kaplan & Krishna G. Palepu

19 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Isn't Business Research More Relevant to Business Practitioners?

other colleagues published an experimental study showing that organizations can encourage honest reporting on financial documents—for example, expense reports or tax forms—simply by moving the signature line to the top of the form so that... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details

Keywords: Tyco; Dennis Kozlowski; Edward Breen; Fire Safety; Fire Protection; Security; Packaging; Securities And Exchange Commission; Fraud; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Earnings Management; Financial Statements; Goodwill Accounting; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Restructuring; Crime and Corruption; Engineering; Applied Optics; Chemicals; Construction; Metals and Minerals; Ethics; Finance; Cash Flow; Public Equity; Stock Options; Financing and Loans; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Executive Compensation; Selection and Staffing; Courts and Trials; Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Value; Chemical Industry; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Energy Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Mining Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Utilities Industry; Republic of Ireland; Switzerland; Bermuda; United States; New Hampshire

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04 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 4

downturns. In particular, the case examines the financial accounting, auditing, and internal management control practices around the Repo 105 transactions, which had a significant effect on the leverage position of the company. Based on... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

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24 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Building an IT Governance Committee

speaking, the IT expert serves much the same function as the certified financial expert on an audit committee. A CIO or CTO with solid experience in the management of IT qualifies; for example, the IT... View Details

Keywords: by Richard Nolan & Warren McFarlan

July 2002 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Kendall Square Research Corporation (A) (Abridged)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and F. Warren McFarlan

Kendall Square Research was a small competitor in the supercomputer industry. Sales grew rapidly in 1992 and early 1993, and the company sold stock to the public for the first time. Analysts forecasted higher earnings for 1993, then the company's revenue recognition... View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Standards; Accounting Audits; Computer Industry

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November 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Kendall Square Research Corporation

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Kendall Square Research was a small competitor in the supercomputer industry. Sales grew rapidly in 1992 and early 1993 and the company sold stock to the public for the first time. Analysts forecast higher earnings for 1993, then the company's revenue recognition... View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Standards; Accounting Audits; Computer Industry

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