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
  • October 2012 (Revised July 2013)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Olympus (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch, Suraj Srinivasan and Kathleen Durante
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:24
ShareBar

Abstract

As 2012 approached, the woes of the financial crisis seemed to be fading, companies were resuming business as usual, and some of the scrutiny on corporate governance practices began to recede as well. That is until another major financial scandal emerged in Japan in the fall of 2011. It was slowly revealed that the 92-year-old camera and medical photo-imaging company, Olympus, had been hiding its losses for more than a decade—to the tune of $1.7 billion—long before the current economic pressures, slow job growth, and poor investor confidence plagued the global economy. The fraud renewed the focus on corporate governance policies worldwide, but especially in Japan, where the lack of board independence and a deep-rooted corporate culture entrenched in personal loyalties fostered an environment that made it difficult for scandals such as this to be unveiled, let alone for whistleblowers to come forward about them.

Keywords

Accounting; Corporate Governance; Electronics Industry; Health Industry; Japan

Citation

Lorsch, Jay W., Suraj Srinivasan, and Kathleen Durante. "Olympus (A) ." Harvard Business School Case 413-040, October 2012. (Revised July 2013.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Authors

Jay W. Lorsch

→More Publications

Suraj Srinivasan

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

Related Work

    • October 2012
    • Faculty Research

    Olympus (B)

    By: Jay W. Lorsch, Suraj Srinivasan and Kathleen Durante
    • October 2012 (Revised July 2013)
    • Faculty Research

    Olympus (A)

    By: Jay W. Lorsch, Suraj Srinivasan and Kathleen Durante
    • February 2014
    • Faculty Research

    Olympus (A)

    By: Jay W. Lorsch and Suraj Srinivasan
Related Work
  • Olympus (B) By: Jay W. Lorsch, Suraj Srinivasan and Kathleen Durante
  • Olympus (A) By: Jay W. Lorsch, Suraj Srinivasan and Kathleen Durante
  • Olympus (A) By: Jay W. Lorsch and Suraj Srinivasan
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