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On March 7, 2013, ThyssenKrupp Group CEO Heinrich Hiesinger was shocked to receive a resignation letter from Gerhard Cromme, chairman of the company's supervisory board.

Hiesinger had been CEO since 2010. Early in his tenure, ThyssenKrupp incurred massive losses from disastrous steel investments and faced allegations of colluding with other companies to fix prices in its railway steel operations. As a result, Hiesinger had been forced to dismiss three executive board members, one for violating company policy. After a supervisory board member also was dismissed for violating company policy, the company's offices were raided in an investigation of price-fixing in steel contracts to the automotive industry.

Cromme had been sharply criticized by shareholders and analysts as an impediment to the cultural, strategic, and governance changes Hiesinger was trying to make to address the scandals at ThyssenKrupp, but for months he defiantly had resisted calls for his removal. With no warning, he resigned without naming a successor or creating a plan to select one.

Now that he no longer needed to deal with the distractions created by Cromme's presence, Hiesinger was free to finalize a plan to address the defects in ThyssenKrupp's governance.

The impact of corporate governance on internal controls and quality of financial disclosures.

Analysis of a real financial fraud event for a non-US multinational corporation. The case relies on accessing and analyzing annual reports for the firm, both before and after the fraud. Additional information on industry governance characteristics are provided in the case itself so that students can compare the firm to the industry.

This business case is centered on the analysis of Schneider Electric, a French multinational corporation, which had to restate their financial statements in 2011 because of accounting fraud. Following this event, Schneider undertook major changes in their board structure to improve internal control mechanisms. This pedagogical business case familiarizes students with international differences in ownership and board structure and emphasizes potential corporate governance changes after financial statement fraud.

Managerial finance, corporate finance, international finance, auditing. This case is more appropriate for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses.

The main objectives of this case are to provide an opportunity for case users to understand the organisational governance framework in a farmers' association and how to build an effective organisational board. More specifically, the teaching objectives of this case are as follows: to provide an overview of the functions of different types of governance structures in a farmers' association. To understand the importance of good governance practices in a farmers' association and for its stakeholders. To relate democratic theory, stakeholder theory, agency theory and stewardship theory with the governance practices of a farmers' association. To critically evaluate the board governance in a farmers' association and recommend measures to enhance the practices.

The teaching case presents the governance practices in a farmers' association in Malaysia, ZIX-PPK and the various governance challenges that emerged in the PPK subsequent to the appointment of politically affiliated directors. Prior to 2019, ZIX-PPK was an outstanding PPK under the helm of the General Manager, Khadijah. The PPK had continually been recognised as an exceptional and excellent PPK by the Farmers' Organisation Authority and the Muda Agricultural Development Authority. However, the Arahan Pendaftar Bil 1/2019 required changes to the governance structures of ZIX-PPK, with five new directors being appointed by the minister. The appointment threatened the independence and autonomy of ZIX-PPK and affected the dynamic of the board of directors. Khadijah had to search for measures that could improve the board governance in ZIX-PPK. The names, in this case, had been altered but the details were based on an actual event. The data were collected through interviews with key players and with reference to the minutes and other documentation of ZIX-PPK.

The teaching case can be used by students in higher education institutions at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The case may also be relevant for training purposes to farmers' associations and any non-profit organisations.

CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

The case briefly describes the history of Electronic Data Systems (EDS) under Ross Perot and GM before turning to the beginning of a tumultuous decade in the late 1990s. As the turn of the century approached, EDS made critical strategic missteps such as missing opportunities in the Internet space, overlooking the onset of client-server computing, and failing to obtain major Y2K-related projects. The company attempted a turnaround by replacing the CEO with Dick Brown, whose leadership helped streamline the sprawling company. Despite initial successes, Brown's tenure ultimately ended in failure, due largely to his failure to recognize the growing Indian market and his willingness to buy business at the expense of the company's margin. The disastrous multibillion-dollar Navy & Marine Corp Intranet contract typified the type of high-profile transactions that Brown pursued, often boosting EDS's stock price in the short term while eroding its cash flow short term and its profitability over the long term. EDS management went through several stages of the turnaround process: the blinded phase, the inactive phase, and the faulty action phase, until Michael Jordan replaced Brown as CEO and enacted a three-tiered operational, strategic, and financial turnaround.

EDS's near-decade of turnaround efforts takes students through every phase of the turnaround process and demonstrates that even initially successful turnaround efforts can become distracted, rendering them ineffective. The case will show both a failed turnaround and a subsequent successful one, while adding an international component with respect to EDS's overlooking an important, growing Indian market.

This case is a role-play exercise intended to give participants an opportunity to experience board meeting dynamics and logistics, determine how to scale a nonprofit for maximum impact, learn about governance best practices, and become generally familiar with nonprofit financial statements, dashboards, and new board member recruitment strategies. There is no right answer or correct outcome to the exercise; the value lies in participants' analysis of the situation, dialogue with one another, and post-meeting self-reflection.

In January 2012, the Jane Addams Hull House Association—one of Chicago's largest and oldest social service agencies and arguably its most iconic—announced that it might have to close in the spring due to financial difficulties. Just days later, the 122-year-old organization stunned the philanthropic world when it laid off its employees without notice, declared its intention to liquidate in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and shut its doors forever. In the weeks that followed, more and more people began to ask: What had happened to the board? Had bankruptcy really been inevitable? This case chronicles the organization's final decade and enables students to step into the shoes of the chairman of the board, Steve Saunders, as he led the board through its last two years. Students will examine the roles and responsibilities of effective boards and determine how internal and external factors contributed to Hull House's demise.

After reading and analyzing the case, students will be able to:

• Describe the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards

• Determine when the board is not performing its job and what the implications are for the organization

• Evaluate ways in which the board might change in order to do a better job

• Diagnose when external environmental factors threaten the security of a nonprofit and how the board itself might diagnose and work with such threats

Describe the roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards

Determine when the board is not performing its job and what the implications are for the organization

Evaluate ways in which the board might change in order to do a better job

Diagnose when external environmental factors threaten the security of a nonprofit and how the board itself might diagnose and work with such threats

This case on “Corporate governance: a farce at Volkswagen (VW)” is set in September of 2015. The precipitating events, which started with the Emissions scandal and tampering of the technology, unfold a history of threatening organizational culture, deliberate cheating, and failure of good governance. The case presents that though the outgoing CEO took the responsibility for the event but said that he was shocked by the event and stunned that the misconduct of such a scale could occur in the VW Group. Given the roles and responsibilities of board of management and the supervisory board, how could the scandal of such magnitude go unnoticed? Were robust corporate governance practices being not followed at VW?

The case is based on the material available in the public domain, records, press reports, published books, interviews published by key board members of Volkswagen and the company website.

This case can be used for undergraduate senior classes or graduate and executive education level courses in corporate governance and ethical practices. This case will sync best with the topics around Board Composition and size, Board Independence, fiduciary duties of supervisory board, board duality and leadership and its impact on organizational culture.

The case is aimed at providing students with an opportunity to understand various aspects of corporate governance and the consequences of poor corporate governance. The case addresses the following objectives: The students need to assess the role of the board in implementing corporate governance. The students should be able to explain the conflicts experienced by various stakeholders in an organization. The students need to evaluate the balancing act of growth and governance in a startup. The students should be able to determine the current state of business sustainability of the high-growth startups in India.

The case presents the challenges faced by the CEO of BharatPe, Suhail Sameer. Beginning in 2022, Bharatpe was in deep trouble as there were allegations of financial mismanagement, toxic work culture and widening losses. Co-founder Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri had to leave the company following charges against them. As Grover was the face of the company, Sameer would have to quickly act on filling the void and reassuring investors. Because of the uncertainty, scores of employees had already quit or were looking for other jobs. Questions were also raised about the board’s inaction and lack of proactive measures. After a meteoric rise for three years, BharatPe was struggling to survive the whole episode and put its focus back on business.

The case is intended for MBA students in corporate governance, organizational behaviour, business ethics and strategic management areas. As the case reveals the impact of poor corporate governance, it can also be used for executive training purposes on corporate sustainability, governance and leadership with a special focus on Indian startups.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This case describes the challenges faced by Amul in organising dairy farmers into a co-operative and creating continuous opportunities for value addition. Participants in the case discussion are required to review the developments in the organisation and recommend a strategy for the future.

The case can be used in the subject areas of finance and in particular investments, corporate governance, ESG, or responsible investments. It is suitable for students from all financial backgrounds, from a novice in the financial markets to an expert in finance. It is, however, expected that the class should have a sound fundamental grounding in financial analysis and valuations. The purpose of this case is to prepare students for future investments they would make in whatever capacity – whether in private or listed companies – and to prepare them for future roles on boards of directors. The examples of real-life events in this case study are used to prepare students for future similar situations in which they might find themselves.

This teaching case is aimed at postgraduate students pursuing an MBA or a specialist Masters in a finance programme. This case can be used as a master class in corporate governance, investments, or responsible investments. This case is also suited for an executive education class in management. It is particularly relevant to a module that focusses on investments, corporate governance, ESG, or responsible investments.

The case study chronicles meetings held on 8 November 2017 at a fictional South African asset manager, Active Investment Management (AIM). These meetings discuss the firm's investment in JSE-listed Steinhoff International Holdings. The case deals with the questions that active fund managers need to address when balancing financial analysis; environmental, social, and governance (ESG) analysis; portfolio management; and the need to comply with their fiduciary duty to clients. It also looks at the need for responsible investing in decision-making.

The understanding of the assessment around the complexities of asset management when it comes to responsible investment.

To determine why institutional investors should apply responsible investment principles when making investment decisions.

An understanding of the evaluation of the unique roles of the three pillars of corporate governance, namely asset managers, auditors, and the board of directors.

The ability to assess how to integrate financial analysis and ESG principles in making investment recommendations.