This public-sourced case was co-founded with CFA Institute for members, candidates, and its university partners as an activity based on ethical decision making. The case suits best for CFA associate universities and others which tend to work ethically in the financial sector. The case took place on May 2012 as investment bankers and Facebook executives prepared for the anticipated IPO of the company. The company’s Chief Financial Officer felt hopeless that the company would not be able to meet its financial forecasts for the quarter, after meeting with more than 500 prospective investors during lunch. Hence, it is best that the investment banker first determines the effectiveness of counseling the client and to come to an agreement in all aspects. However, time is of essence and there is pressure of high expectations in finalizing the details of the IPO and to prepare for fulfilling the demands of other prospective investors.
In this case, students have the opportunity to identify and evaluate various stakeholders and their individual goals, along with ethical principles, conflicts of interest, and situational influences, which could be demanded and are the decision makers. Students registered in the CFA Application® can use the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct in the situation to advocate a plan of retaliation. Moreover, another benefit of this case is regarding teaching students about the process of the IPO in the US, which comprises of information asymmetry and giant companies, which may serve their clients with different approaches.
Publication Date: 08/07/2015
This is just an excerpt. This case is about Finance