Reference no: EM133035301

HBR case on Olympus, 7-10-2013 Why did Olympus have such an accounting scandal?

1. How can Olympus improve its corporate governance in protecting outside shareholders?
2. What was the nature of the fraud at Olympus?
3. How did Olympus cover up the losses through the fraudulent transactions?
4. Explain which parties (inside and outside the firm) were likely to be involved in the fraud.
5. How did the fraud remain hidden for over ten years?
6. If some of the parties were aware of the fraud, why did they remain silent?
7. What was the real reason behind the cover-up?
8. Did the Chairman benefit financially from the fraud?
9. Which stakeholders actually benefited from their fraudulent behavior?
10. Can you identify the underlying motives that led them to behave this way? Was this unique to the culture and business environment in Japan?
11. What would you recommend Olympus do to improve on its corporate governance so that similar accounting scandals can be avoided, and outside shareholders are protected?