Publications

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

November 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Electro, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

CFO of U.S. company preparing for U.K. analyst meetings reviews his company's 2008 earnings per share calculations. View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Standards; United Kingdom; United States

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December 2010
Supplement

Urban Water Partners (A) Spreadsheet Solutions (CW)

By: Karthik Ramanna and George Serafeim

Teaching Note for Spreadsheet (111701). View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Accrual Accounting; Financial Statements; Health Industry; Utilities Industry; Dar es Salaam

1998
Other Unpublished Work

Reporting Gaps in the United Kingdom: The Chief Executives Perspective

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr., Dave Phillips and Heather Richards

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Performance; United Kingdom

May 2004 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Enron Odyssey (A), The: The Special Purpose of "SPEs"

The board has asked Ron Tolbert, an employee in the Risk Assessment and Control Group, to analyze three SPE transactions executed by Enron executives: the Destec, Rhythms, and Fishtail/Bacchus transactions, which were prominently featured in the Examiner's Report in... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Financial Instruments; Analysis; Accounting; Financial Strategy; Energy Industry

01 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Keeping Track: Performance Measurement, Control & Strategy

Measurement & Control Systems for Implementing Strategy, published by Prentice Hall. Q: What's the context for the development of this book? Simons: My colleagues and I in the School's Accounting and Control Unit have spent a lot of... View Details

Keywords: Re: Robert Simons

May 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Supplement

'GEnron'? Markopolos versus General Electric (B)

By: Jonas Heese and David Lane

Supplement to the (A) case that offers an assessment of the August 2019 Markopolos report on General Electric. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Communication; Energy; Financial Condition; Insurance; Performance; Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Value; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

19 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Unlocking Your Investment Capital

size of the company's assets? The management of financial risks is not just a matter of "protecting" the firm against adverse events. A: As an accounting identity, the total value and the total... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen; Financial Services

October 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Souqalmal: The Choice Is Yours (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Alpana Thapar

This case describes how Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal, a Dubai-based online comparison aggregator of banking and insurance products launched her business in 2011 and rapidly grew it over next couple of years. However, by 2017, the Mauritian entrepreneur... View Details

Keywords: Unit Economics; Finance; Accounting; Competitive Strategy; Financial Statements; Insurance Industry; Middle East

April 1996 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Bed Bath & Beyond

By: Amy P. Hutton and James Weber

This case examines how accurately investors have incorporated information about the growth strategy of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) into share price, especially given the changing competitive environment in the housewares industry and the recent Barron's article pointing... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Valuation; Financial Statements; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry

February 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Steinhoff International and the Stock Exchange

By: Siko Sikochi and Austin Lim

Nicky Newton-King, the Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), was put in a difficult position. A scandal had broken out at Steinhoff, a JSE-listed company, under her watch and there were calls to suspend listing of the company securities from... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Financial Reporting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Markets; Corporate Governance; Retail Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Distribution Industry; Africa; South Africa

September 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Teaching Note

Korea Stock Exchange 1998 TN

By: Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu

Teaching Note for (9-199-033). View Details

Keywords: Accounting Industry; Accounting Industry; South Korea

08 Oct 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Market Reaction to Mandatory Nonfinancial Disclosure

Keywords: by Jyothika Grewal, Edward J. Riedl & George Serafeim

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

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22 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Online Banks Fill Funding Needs for Small Business

always been alternative forms of loan capital available, including credit unions, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), merchant cash advances, equipment leasing and factoring products. “Alternative players have the... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Financial Services; Financial Services

18 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

No More General Tso's? A Threat to 'Knowledge Recombination'

South Africa in the late 19th century, they brought with them accounting practices such as “double-entry” bookkeeping, which changed the country’s financial system. More recently, hundreds of Soviet... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Accounting; Accounting; Accounting

25 Jul 2003
Keynote Speech

The Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley and the NYSE Rules on American Corporate Governance

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Stocks; Corporate Governance; Accounting Audits; United States

March 2011 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Mittel Technologies, AG

By: David F. Hawkins

CFO of German heavy equipment manufacturer examines through company examples potential impact of proposed changes to revenue recognition rules. View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition; Manufacturing Industry; Germany