Quality of Earnings Case Studies Available Online

As part of the AICPA’s initiatives highlighting the importance of Quality of Earnings, the AICPA created a collection of case studies in Harvard Business Review style where the case content is presented as a dialogue between senior executives in the company, followed by commentary from experts with different perspectives on the challenges the executives face. The case collection is available for free at www.cpa2biz.com, in the Business Reporting, Audit and Attest Resource Center.

This collection of 15 Quality of Earnings case studies (edited by the AICPA) attempts to provide timely, relevant education about quality of earnings issues. The solutions to the cases serve to elucidate the complexity and inter-relatedness of various accounting and internal control issues, including the relations among managers’ personal incentives (including bonus payments and personal credibility), investor relations programs, earnings management, cost of capital and accounting controversies with auditors and regulators.

Senior financial executives who have graciously contributed expert commentary to this collection include Steve Key (former CFO, Textron), Paul Bialek (former CFO, RealNetworks), Lota Zoth (Controller, PSINet) and Robert Tarola (CFO, W. R. Grace).

Other expert commentators who offer solutions include Martin Fridson (Chief High Yield Strategist, Merrill Lynch), Steve Wallman (former SEC regulator and lawyer, founder and CEO of FOLIOfn), William McLucas (former SEC regulator and partner with Wilmer, Culter and Pickering), Paul Munter (Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance; University of Miami professor), and Maureen McNichols (Stanford University professor).

For more information, contact Roslyn Kessler, CPA, Technical Manager, Industry and Management Accounting at rkessler@aicpa.org.