Accounting & Management
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- February 2024
- Case
CLSA: Integrating ESG in Stock Valuation
By: Shirley Lu, Aaron Yoon and Billy ChanIn 2023, a senior financial analyst at the Hong Kong-based stock brokerage firm CLSA was surprised to see that, based on his calculations, the financial impact from climate risks on a major Indian cement manufacturing company’s projected earnings could be massive. While conducting fundamental analysis and making stock recommendations to equity-trading clients was the “bread and butter” for financial analysts, incorporating ESG factors in stock valuation was not yet a common industry-wide practice. Given the magnitude of the financial impact, the senior analyst, who was also the head of ESG research, pondered if he should change his view on the stock, and how he could develop a new way of valuing stocks adjusted by ESG risks.
- February 2024
- Case
CLSA: Integrating ESG in Stock Valuation
By: Shirley Lu, Aaron Yoon and Billy ChanIn 2023, a senior financial analyst at the Hong Kong-based stock brokerage firm CLSA was surprised to see that, based on his calculations, the financial impact from climate risks on a major Indian cement manufacturing company’s projected earnings could be massive. While conducting fundamental analysis and making stock recommendations to...
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- February 2024
- Case
Continuity & Change at Boston Consulting Group
By: David G. Fubini, Suraj Srinivasan and David LaneAs the new CEO of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) since autumn 2021, Christoph Schweizer had big shoes to fill—his predecessor, Rich Lesser, had tripled the partnership’s total revenues and created digital initiatives that contributed 40+% of 2021 revenues, more than doubling headcount along the way. Schweizer announced plans for fresh growth: he planned to double the partnership’s size and pursue what he called moonshots—dedicated efforts to accelerate in artificial intelligence and climate & sustainability that would each help drive 20% to 30% of total BCG revenues by 2030. Externally, however, BCG was soon grappling with the macro-effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as rising interest rates, compounding the potential risks BCG faced with a commitment to rapid growth. As yet unclear was how much BCG needed to adapt or alter the formula of success that Lesser had applied in order to tackle these headwinds and deliver on Schweizer’s vision.
- February 2024
- Case
Continuity & Change at Boston Consulting Group
By: David G. Fubini, Suraj Srinivasan and David LaneAs the new CEO of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) since autumn 2021, Christoph Schweizer had big shoes to fill—his predecessor, Rich Lesser, had tripled the partnership’s total revenues and created digital initiatives that contributed 40+% of 2021 revenues, more than doubling headcount along the way. Schweizer announced plans for fresh growth: he...
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- 2024
- Working Paper
Principles and Content for Downstream Emissions Disclosures
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Karthik RamannaIn a previous paper, we proposed the E-liability carbon accounting algorithm for companies to measure and subsequently reduce their own and their suppliers’ emissions. Some investors and stakeholders, however, want companies to also be accountable for downstream emissions, those produced by their customers, their customers’ customers, and so on down a value chain. In this paper, we describe the misconception of attempting to have all companies measure and be accountable for downstream emissions. But we also propose how to handle the important exception, when end-use consumers are the culpable party producing the downstream emissions. The paper uses several consumer-product examples to develop three principles for corporate disclosure of downstream emissions. Principle 1: Only companies whose products are directly used by end-consumers (B2C companies) should be required to disclose downstream emissions. Principle 2: Only B2C companies with products that require energy for consumer use, and for which a reasonable causal link exists between the product’s sourcing and design decisions and the emissions from consumer use, should be subject to downstream disclosure. Principle 3: Since companies have limited influence on consumers’ quantity of use of their products, a B2C company’s downstream disclosures should focus on emissions per unit of consumer use, not on total emissions. The paper concludes by explaining why reports of downstream emissions are “disclosures” not “accounting.”
- 2024
- Working Paper
Principles and Content for Downstream Emissions Disclosures
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Karthik RamannaIn a previous paper, we proposed the E-liability carbon accounting algorithm for companies to measure and subsequently reduce their own and their suppliers’ emissions. Some investors and stakeholders, however, want companies to also be accountable for downstream emissions, those produced by their customers, their customers’ customers, and so on...
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
Post-Wirecard: BaFin under Mark Branson
- March 2024 |
- Teaching Note |
- Faculty Research
Accounting Standards for the 21st Century
- March 2024 |
- Module Note |
- Faculty Research
CLSA: Integrating ESG in Stock Valuation
- February 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Seeds of Innovation: GALY’s Quest to Cultivate the Future of Agriculture in the Lab
- February 2024 |
- Supplement |
- Faculty Research
Continuity & Change at Boston Consulting Group
- February 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Principles and Content for Downstream Emissions Disclosures
- 2024 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Ball: EVA Driving the World’s Leading Can Manufacturer (A) Student Spreadsheet Supplement
- February 2024 |
- Supplement |
- Faculty Research
Harvard Business Publishing
Seminars & Conferences
There are no upcoming events.