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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2012 version)

  Integrated Assurance at Philips Electronics N.V.

  Robert G. Eccles and Daniela Saltzman

  Philips Electronics is a leader in integrated reporting. In 2010 it produced its third generation report. Since its first report in 2008, Philips' integrated reports and its integrated reporting website had grown in sophistication. In planning for its integrated report for 2011, the company is exploring the issues that will need to be addressed in order to produce an integrated report. KPMG is the company's auditor for both the financial and nonfinancial information contained in the integrated report, but these are covered by separate assurance opinions. Among the challenges of providing an integrated audit is getting the internal measurement and control systems for nonfinancial information to be of the same quality as for financial information. A further challenge is that the cultures of the finance function and those who work in sustainability are very different.

  Keywords: Accounting Audits; Reports; Organizational Culture;

  Citation:

  Eccles, Robert G., and Daniela Saltzman. "Integrated Assurance at Philips Electronics N.V." Harvard Business School Case 412-054, May 2013. (Revised from original January 2012 version.)

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• Mimeo | 2013

  Concentration in Mortgage Lending, Refinancing Activity, and Mortgage Rates

  David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

  We present evidence that high concentration in local mortgage lending reduces the sensitivity of mortgage rates and refinancing activity to mortgage-backed security (MBS) yields. A decrease in MBS yields is typically associated with greater refinancing activity and lower rates on new mortgages. However, this effect is dampened in counties with concentrated mortgage markets. We isolate the direct effect of mortgage market concentration and rule out alternative explanations based on borrower, loan, and collateral characteristics in two ways. First, we use a matching procedure to compare high- and low-concentration counties that are very similar on observable characteristics and find similar results. Second, we examine counties where concentration in mortgage lending is increased by bank mergers. We show that within a given county, sensitivities to MBS yields decrease after a concentration-increasing merger. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of housing as a monetary policy transmission channel varies in both the time series and the cross section. Increasing concentration by one standard deviation above the mean reduces the overall impact of a decline in MBS yields by approximately 50%.

  Keywords: Mortgages; Banking Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Scharfstein, David S., and Adi Sunderam. "Concentration in Mortgage Lending, Refinancing Activity, and Mortgage Rates." April 2013. Mimeo.

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2010 version)

  Baxter's Asia Pacific 'Talent Edge' Initiative

  Jordan Siegel, Mimi Xi and Christopher Poliquin

  This case examines whether multinationals have a potential competitive weapon in aggressively exploiting social schisms in host labor markets and in hiring and promoting senior managers from excluded groups.

  Keywords: Labor; Selection and Staffing; Groups and Teams;

  Citation:

  Siegel, Jordan, Mimi Xi, and Christopher Poliquin. "Baxter's Asia Pacific 'Talent Edge' Initiative." Harvard Business School Case 711-408, March 2013. (Revised from original October 2010 version.)

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