Publications
Publications
- January 2024
- HBS Case Collection
Post-Wirecard: BaFin under Mark Branson
By: Jonas Heese, Carlota Moniz and Daniela Beyersdorfer
Abstract
In November 2023, Mark Branson, the head of Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), reflected on the efficacy of the reforms initiated since the Wirecard scandal. BaFin had been discredited after Wirecard’s downfall in 2020. The press had derided it as a "toothless tiger" because of its limited supervisory powers when it came to addressing warning signs of large-scale accounting fraud. Why did BaFin fail to detect the Wirecard scandal? Were the reforms sufficient to prevent another large-scale accounting fraud and to build trust with investors?
Keywords
Accounting; Crime and Corruption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Administration; Failure; Trust; Financial Services Industry; Public Administration Industry; Germany
Citation
Heese, Jonas, Carlota Moniz, and Daniela Beyersdorfer. "Post-Wirecard: BaFin under Mark Branson." Harvard Business School Case 124-078, January 2024.