Accounting & Management
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- January 2025
- Case
Creating Value by Splitting Aster: Can One Minus One Equal Two?
By: V.G. Narayanan and Kairavi DeyAster DM Healthcare (Aster), founded by Dr. Azad Moopen in 1987, is a prominent healthcare conglomerate with operations spanning hospitals, clinics, retail pharmacies, and diagnostic centers across India and the GCC. After its 2018 listing on India’s National Stock Exchange, Aster’s stock stagnated, revealing a market undervaluation of its GCC business. In 2021, Aster initiated a value discovery exercise, leading to the separation of its India and GCC businesses. Aster GCC became a private entity focused on the GCC region, while Aster India remained publicly listed. In 2022, Aster sold a 65% stake in its GCC operations, held by Affinity Holdings, to a consortium led by Fajr Capital for $1 billion. As the transaction neared completion, Aster faced four key negotiation challenges: dividing global markets between the two entities, structuring shared services, accounting for medical value tourism, and pricing access to the GCC-built IT platform.
- January 2025
- Case
Creating Value by Splitting Aster: Can One Minus One Equal Two?
By: V.G. Narayanan and Kairavi DeyAster DM Healthcare (Aster), founded by Dr. Azad Moopen in 1987, is a prominent healthcare conglomerate with operations spanning hospitals, clinics, retail pharmacies, and diagnostic centers across India and the GCC. After its 2018 listing on India’s National Stock Exchange, Aster’s stock stagnated, revealing a market undervaluation of its GCC...
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- February 2025
- Article
Innovations in Evaluating Ambulatory Costs of Cystic Fibrosis Care: A Comparative Study Across Multidisciplinary Care Centers in Ireland and the United States
By: Emma Brady, Ryan C. Perkins, Kate Cullen, Gregory S. Sawicki, Robert S. Kaplan and Gerardine DoyleLead clinicians at two large pediatric cystic fibrosis (CF) centers in the United States and Ireland measured and compared their ambulatory care costs. The clinicians selected three strata of patients (0–11 months, 1–5 years, and 6–17 years of age). Process maps were developed for each of the age cohorts at each site, and the costs of ambulatory care—with emphasis on routine CF clinic visits—were measured utilizing time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC). Variance analysis was applied to identify the components of cost variation between the two sites. The quantity variance showed that clinicians in Ireland spent 108% more time with patients than at the U.S. site; the skill mix variance showed the U.S. site with a 49% higher personnel cost mix, and the price (rate) variance showed that U.S. personnel had a 31% higher compensation level. The costing and variance analysis provided organizationally relevant insights into the distinctive features of each site’s CF care delivery processes and how costs could be reduced without adverse impact on patient outcomes.
- February 2025
- Article
Innovations in Evaluating Ambulatory Costs of Cystic Fibrosis Care: A Comparative Study Across Multidisciplinary Care Centers in Ireland and the United States
By: Emma Brady, Ryan C. Perkins, Kate Cullen, Gregory S. Sawicki, Robert S. Kaplan and Gerardine DoyleLead clinicians at two large pediatric cystic fibrosis (CF) centers in the United States and Ireland measured and compared their ambulatory care costs. The clinicians selected three strata of patients (0–11 months, 1–5 years, and 6–17 years of age). Process maps were developed for each of the age cohorts at each site, and the costs of ambulatory...
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- January 2025
- Case
Ole Rosgaard at Greif
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Kerry HermanSince taking over as CEO of industrial packaging giant Greif, Ole Rosgaard has focused on growing the company and improving the perception of its value by the capital markets. He and his senior leadership team have made inroads to this end, including adjusting the company’s portfolio mix to higher-margin businesses, affirming and strengthening Greif’s strong culture. Working with the company’s board chair, Rosegaard was working to make changes to the board composition and board routines to create more board engagement with the company’s strategy and transformation. Have these efforts been enough?
- January 2025
- Case
Ole Rosgaard at Greif
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Kerry HermanSince taking over as CEO of industrial packaging giant Greif, Ole Rosgaard has focused on growing the company and improving the perception of its value by the capital markets. He and his senior leadership team have made inroads to this end, including adjusting the company’s portfolio mix to higher-margin businesses, affirming and strengthening...
About the Unit
The Accounting & Management unit at Harvard Business School strives to be the worldwide leader in research, course development, and teaching on top managements' use of performance measurement systems to:
- Communicate with external investors to ensure that their firms' securities are fairly priced and that they are able to access capital,
- Measure and evaluate their firms' economic performance,
- Improve resource allocation and strategy implementation within their firms, and
- Build accountability for performance through effective external and internal governance.
Unit research, course development, and teaching fall into two broad areas: Financial Reporting and Analysis and Management Accounting. Our research helps scholars and educators understand current best practices for the design and use of performance measurement systems that help managers to build more effective, value-creating organizations. Our teaching materials enable us to bring the results of this research into the classroom, and to practice.
Recent Publications
Creating Value By Splitting Aster (B): Can One Minus One Equal Two?
- January 2025 |
- Supplement |
- Faculty Research
Creating Value by Splitting Aster: Can One Minus One Equal Two?
- January 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Innovations in Evaluating Ambulatory Costs of Cystic Fibrosis Care: A Comparative Study Across Multidisciplinary Care Centers in Ireland and the United States
- February 2025 |
- Article |
- NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery
Ole Rosgaard at Greif
- January 2025 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Northvolt: Building Batteries to Fight Climate Change (B)
- December 2024 |
- Supplement |
- Faculty Research
How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?
- November–December 2024 |
- Article |
- Harvard Business Review
Proxy Advisory Firms and Corporate Shareholder Engagement
- December 2024 |
- Article |
- Review of Financial Studies
Human Bias in the Oversight of Firms: Evidence from Workplace Safety Violations
- December 2024 |
- Article |
- Review of Accounting Studies
Harvard Business Publishing
Seminars & Conferences
- 06 Mar 2025