Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • January 1991 (Revised March 2010)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Westchester Distributing, Inc. (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Robert Boxwell
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:15
ShareBar

Abstract

Focuses on the three-way interaction among internal controls, employee behavior, and incentives. Salesmen are illegally providing kickbacks to customers of this beer-distribution firm. In turn, salesmen are reimbursing themselves by filing fraudulent expense reports. The owner/president of the business faces a difficult decision: if he fires the individuals involved, he risks a total business shut-down. Closes with the question of how to improve internal controls to avoid this type of occurrence in the future.

Keywords

Financial Reporting; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Salesforce Management; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Distribution Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Citation

Simons, Robert L., and Robert Boxwell. "Westchester Distributing, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 191-118, January 1991. (Revised March 2010.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Robert Simons

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • April 2025
    • Faculty Research

    Helen Keller: Changing the World

    By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun
    • October 2024
    • Faculty Research

    Mahatma Gandhi: Changing the World

    By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun
    • October 2024
    • Faculty Research

    Henry Ford: Changing the World

    By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun
More from the Authors
  • Helen Keller: Changing the World By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun
  • Mahatma Gandhi: Changing the World By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun
  • Henry Ford: Changing the World By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.