Publications

2021
Working Paper

Impact Accounting for Product Use: A Framework and Industry-specific Models

By: George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

This handbook provides the first systematic attempt to generate a framework and industry-specific models for the measurement of impacts on customers and the environment from use of products and services, in monetary terms, that can then be reflected in financial... View Details

Keywords: Impact Measurement; Product Impact; Customer Welfare; Environment; ESG; Product; Customers; Well-being; Environmental Sustainability; Measurement and Metrics; Accounting; Financial Statements; Analysis; Framework

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01 May 2024
What Do You Think?

Have You Had Enough?

Is About Control, Delegation, or Theater? 2006: How Important Is 'Executive Intelligence' for Leaders? 2003: Can We Have Too Much Productivity Improvement? Key historic events: The COVID-19 pandemic: What Are Lessons for Leaders from This Black Swan Crisis? (2020) The... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Working Paper

Measuring the Perceived Liquidity of the Corporate Bond Market

By: Sergey Chernenko and Adi Sunderam

We propose a novel measure of bond market liquidity that does not depend on transaction data: the strength of the cross-sectional relationship between mutual fund cash holdings and fund flow volatility. Our measure captures how liquid funds perceive their portfolio... View Details

Keywords: Bond Market; Bonds; Financial Liquidity; Measurement and Metrics

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December 2010
Article

Implications for GAAP from an Analysis of Positive Research in Accounting

By: S.P. Kothari, Karthik Ramanna and Douglas J. Skinner

Based on extant literature, we review the positive theory of GAAP. The theory predicts that GAAP's principal focus is on control (performance measurement and stewardship) and that verifiability and conservatism are critical features of a GAAP shaped by market forces.... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Standards; International Accounting; Financial Markets; Financial Reporting

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December 2024
Case

Core Innovation Capital: Investing in Fintech for Good

By: Ray Kluender, Natalia Rigol, Benjamin Roth and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2017, Arjan Schütte, founder of Core Innovation Capital, faced a decision on whether to invest in Hugo Insurance, an auto insurance startup. Core, an early-stage social impact VC firm, focused on “fintech for good,” by investing in financial services for low- to... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Venture Capital; Social Entrepreneurship; Insurance; Measurement and Metrics; Investment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Product Positioning; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

remote sensing for yield estimation and program evaluation. Keywords: Measurement and Metrics ; Mathematical Methods ; Analytics and Data Science ; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry ; India Citation Read Now Related Cole, Shawn,... View Details

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

vulnerable to conflicts of interest, and how data and technology—from satellite sensing to AI—are transforming how carbon credits are verified and rated. The conversation also highlights key themes in the voluntary carbon market, including the tension between View Details

26 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 26

Advertising Authors:Kireyev, Pavel, Koen Pauwels, and Sunil Gupta Abstract As firms increasingly rely on online media to acquire consumers, marketing managers feel comfortable justifying higher online marketing spending by referring to online View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Choosing a GAAP for Canada

By: Karthik Ramanna and Beiting Cheng

Explores Canadian regulators' decision to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Canadian decision in 2005 to adopt IFRS is particularly interesting because Canada had well-developed domestic accounting standards and because a significant... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Cost vs Benefits; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Standards; Accounting Industry; Canada

17 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Are Companies Getting Away with 'Cheap Talk' on Climate Goals?

Companies regularly set ambitious climate goals, but these plans often end up like many people’s New Year’s resolutions: unmet aspirations that quietly fizzle out. While companies often gain positive media attention by trumpeting plans for reducing greenhouse gas... View Details

Keywords: by Tim Gray

November 2009 (Revised August 2013)
Case

IFRS in China

By: Karthik Ramanna, G.A. Donovan and Nancy Dai

In 2005, China announced plans to "converge with," but not completely adopt, IFRS. China also began to lobby for changes to specific IFRS provisions, such as for related party disclosures by state-owned firms, to bring them more into line with Chinese interests.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; International Accounting; Corporate Disclosure; Standards; State Ownership; Business and Government Relations; China

January 2022
Background Note

Residual Income Valuation Model

By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Albert Shin

This note explains the residual income valuation model (RIM), how it relates to "traditional" valuation models, the intuition behind its use, and empirical research related to its value relevance. RIM is theoretically equivalent to the dividend discount model and the... View Details

Keywords: Residual Income Valuation; Valuation; Research; Theory; Measurement and Metrics; Performance; Financial Management; Business Strategy

Web

HBS - The year in Review

2022 Annual Report From The Dean Key Metrics Financials PDF Downloads The Year in Review After a tumultuous two years of figuring out how to adapt and thrive in the face of COVID-19, fiscal year 2022 brought... View Details

13 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 13

experimentally dissociable, little is known about ambiguity sensitivity in individuals who engage in chronic antisocial behavior. We used a financial decision-making task in a high-risk community-based sample to test for associations... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2011
Article

A Global Leader's Guide to Managing Business Conduct

By: Lynn S. Paine, Rohit Deshpandé and Joshua D. Margolis

An extensive global survey by three Harvard Business School professors finds that employees agree on core standards of corporate behavior. But meeting those standards will require new approaches to managing business conduct. The compliance and ethics programs of most... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Management; Ethics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Standards; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance

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13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

What Would It Take to Unlock Microfinance's Full Potential?

about the impact of microfinance.” Bulletin: One of the great surprises of microfinance has been the astonishingly high rates of loan repayment, at around 96 or 98 percent. How do you interpret that? Ben Roth: One metric of success is... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Financial Services

Web

HBS - PDF Downloads

2022 Annual Report From The Dean Key Metrics Financials PDF Downloads PDF Downloads Download Full Report Download Financials View Details

February 2013
Article

Towards an Understanding of the Role of Standard Setters in Standard Setting

By: Abigail M. Allen and Karthik Ramanna

We investigate the effect of standard setters in standard setting: we examine how certain professional and political characteristics of FASB members and SEC commissioners predict the accounting "reliability" and "relevance" of proposed standards. Notably, we find FASB... View Details

Keywords: FASB; Politics; Relevance; Reliability; Standard Setting; Accounting; Standards; Fair Value Accounting; Government and Politics; Personal Characteristics