Filter Results:
(2,896)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,896)
- People (5)
- News (473)
- Research (1,855)
- Events (2)
- Multimedia (18)
- Faculty Publications (1,035)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,896)
- People (5)
- News (473)
- Research (1,855)
- Events (2)
- Multimedia (18)
- Faculty Publications (1,035)
- February 2013
- Case
Diamond Foods, Inc.
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Tim Gray
The Diamonds Foods, Inc. case describes the major accounting blow up at the company in late 2011 that was triggered by a report by Off Wall Street, a prominent short selling research firm. Diamond Foods, a high flying growth company in 2011, grew from a walnut farmers'... View Details
Keywords: Accounting Restatements; Accounting Scandal; Accounting; Financial Analysis; Financial Statement Analysis; Short Selling; Revenue Recognition; Board Of Directors; Audit Committees; Auditing; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Agribusiness; Accrual Accounting; Earnings Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Valuation; Revenue; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; California; Cambridge
Srinivasan, Suraj, and Tim Gray. "Diamond Foods, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 113-055, February 2013.
- 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
Heese, Jonas, and Annelena Lobb. "MicroStrategy: Accounting for Cryptocurrency (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 122-079, April 2022.
- 2010
- Working Paper
Accounting Scholarship that Advances Professional Knowledge and Practice
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Recent accounting scholarship has used statistical analysis on asset prices, financial reports and disclosures, laboratory experiments, and surveys of practice. The research has studied the interface among accounting information, capital markets, standard setters, and... View Details
Keywords: Accounting; Business Education; Information; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk Management; Measurement and Metrics; Business Processes; Performance Improvement; Practice
Kaplan, Robert S. "Accounting Scholarship that Advances Professional Knowledge and Practice." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-043, October 2010.
- June 2020 (Revised February 2021)
- Case
Accounting for Leases at American Airlines (A)
By: Jonas Heese, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Julia Kelley
In March 2020, as coronavirus reduced demand for air travel, an analyst was forecasting American Airlines’ (American’s) first quarter financial results. To develop a forecast, she needed to familiarize herself with Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02, “Leases... View Details
Keywords: Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Finance; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leasing; Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry; North and Central America; United States
Heese, Jonas, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos, and Julia Kelley. "Accounting for Leases at American Airlines (A)." Harvard Business School Case 120-069, June 2020. (Revised February 2021.)
- 26 Apr 2016
- News
The Quiet War on Corporate Accountability
- Article
Tread Lightly Through These Accounting Minefields
By: H. David Sherman and S. David Young
In the current economic climate, there is tremendous pressure—and personal incentive for managers—to report sales growth and meet investors' revenue expectations. As a result, more companies have been issuing misleading financial reports, according to the SEC,... View Details
Sherman, H. David, and S. David Young. "Tread Lightly Through These Accounting Minefields." Harvard Business Review 79, no. 7 (July–August 2001): 129–135.
- November 1988 (Revised January 1989)
- Background Note
Note on Tax and Accounting Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions
Presents a simplified introduction to tax and accounting issues relevant to mergers and acquisitions. Mergers, asset purchase, and stock acquisition are dealt with in the context of taxable vs. non-taxable transactions. Accounting treatment of the transactions is... View Details
Meerschwam, David M. "Note on Tax and Accounting Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions." Harvard Business School Background Note 189-104, November 1988. (Revised January 1989.)
- 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
Moss, David A., and Joseph P Gownder. "Origins of National Income Accounting." Harvard Business School Case 799-080, December 1998.
- October 1992 (Revised May 1993)
- Background Note
Diversity in Accounting Principles: A Problem, a Strategic Imperative, or a Strategic Opportunity?
By: William J. Bruns Jr.
Provides an introduction to the diversity of generally accepted accounting principles. An example shows how financial reports in one firm could differ depending on accounting methods and principles selected. Presents arguments that this may be a problem, an imperative... View Details
Bruns, William J., Jr. "Diversity in Accounting Principles: A Problem, a Strategic Imperative, or a Strategic Opportunity?" Harvard Business School Background Note 193-045, October 1992. (Revised May 1993.)
- January 2024 (Revised August 2024)
- Case
Silicon Valley Bank: Gone in 36 Hours
This case examines factors contributing to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in March 2023, an event as unpredicted as it was quick. SVB funded nearly half of all U.S. venture-backed startups and at the end of 2022 held $173 billion in deposits, largely... View Details
Keywords: Accounting Standards; Bank Runs; Financial Accounting; Financial Reporting; Social Media; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Investment Portfolio; Interest Rates; Debt Securities; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Statements; Risk Management; Failure; Fair Value Accounting; Credit; Corporate Governance; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States
Kang, Jung Koo, Krishna G. Palepu, Charles C.Y. Wang, and David Lane. "Silicon Valley Bank: Gone in 36 Hours." Harvard Business School Case 124-001, January 2024. (Revised August 2024.)
- Research Summary
Overview
Abigail's research to date has focused on the financial accounting standard setting process. Specifically, her current projects investigate the impacts of regulator backgrounds, constituent preferences, and lobbying incentives in the determination of US GAAP. Her... View Details
- March 2011
- Article
Accounting Scholarship That Advances Professional Knowledge and Practice
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Recent accounting scholarship has used statistical analysis on asset prices, financial reports and disclosures, laboratory experiments, and surveys of practice. The research has studied the interface among accounting information, capital markets, standard setters, and... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Disclosure; Asset Pricing; Risk Management; Surveys; Capital Markets; Measurement and Metrics; Valuation; Fair Value Accounting; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Financial Reporting
Kaplan, Robert S. "Accounting Scholarship That Advances Professional Knowledge and Practice." Accounting Review 86, no. 2 (March 2011): 367–383.
- January 2010
- Case
The Future of Financial Reporting
By: Karthik Ramanna
Multimedia/video case on the SEC's work on improvements to financial reporting. Students review topical audio and video from various sources including SEC footage, and interviews with others involved, such as Bob Pozen, (past head of Fidelity and chairman of the SEC's... View Details
Ramanna, Karthik. "The Future of Financial Reporting." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 110-701, January 2010.
- September 1960 (Revised April 1983)
- Background Note
Note on Financial Forecasting
Introduction to basic techniques of constructing pro forma statements and cash budgets. Illustrated by examples, supplemented by exercises. View Details
Helfert, Erich A. "Note on Financial Forecasting." Harvard Business School Background Note 206-048, September 1960. (Revised April 1983.)
- June 2001 (Revised January 2006)
- Background Note
Mechanics of Financial Accounting, The
By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen
Explains in simple terms and numerical examples how the language of accounting is spoken and communicated to financial statement users. Describes terms such as "debits," "credits," "journal entries," "t-accounts," and "financial statements." View Details
Hawkins, David F., and Jacob Cohen. "Mechanics of Financial Accounting, The." Harvard Business School Background Note 101-119, June 2001. (Revised January 2006.)
- August 2023 (Revised October 2024)
- Case
Plug Power (A)
By: Jonas Heese, Joseph Pacelli and James Barnett
Set immediately after a December 2019 short-seller attack, the case explores Plug Power’s long challenging history. It then focuses on two key issues raised in the short-seller report related to lease accounting and stock warrants that Plug purportedly used to boost... View Details
Keywords: Accounting; Environmental Accounting; Financial Reporting; Ethics; Management; Social Enterprise; Investment; Stocks; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Europe
Heese, Jonas, Joseph Pacelli, and James Barnett. "Accounting Outages at Plug Power? (A)." Harvard Business School Case 124-009, August 2023. (Revised October 2024.)
- 14 Nov 2012
- Research & Ideas
New Agenda for Corporate Accountability Reporting
How do you measure corporate accountability? And can you do it credibly? Since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, for-profit corporations are facing greater demand to disclose more than revenues and expenses on annual financial reports. In response, some are pointing... View Details
- 17 Sep 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Evidence on the Effects of Unverifiable Fair-Value Accounting
Keywords: by Karthik Ramanna & Ross L. Watts
- 22 Jun 2009
- Research & Ideas
“Too Big To Fail”: Reining In Large Financial Firms
largely unregulated hedge fund, came perilously close to collapse in 1998, threatening the global financial system. The tech bubble burst in 2001. Accounting scandals destroyed... View Details