Case Studies

Aier Eye Hospital Group Co. Ltd. (Aier) grew from a local Chinese provider into a global ophthalmology hospital chain, supported by a split leadership structure separating the hospital chief executive officer from the medical president, a Partner Incentive Program, and a plan-do-study-act style of management. The case reviewed the management team and operating model of Aier and introduced three management approaches: value-based health care (VBHC), time-driven activity-based costing, and the balanced scorecard. By 2026, Chen Bang, Aier’s founder, must decide how to institutionalize a VBHC model to shift Aier from scale-driven growth to high-quality, innovation-driven development while continuing to expand access to eye care and deliver attractive returns to shareholders. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

Circle Internet Group Inc. (Circle) debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on June 5, 2025, reaching a $63 billion valuation. As the issuer of USDC, Circle managed $65 billion in digital dollars, generating revenue primarily through interest on US Treasury reserves. However, the company faced a fundamental dilemma: high interest rates drove profits but increased the opportunity cost for users, while falling rates squeezed margins. Additionally, Circle had to navigate a complex revenue-sharing pact with Coinbase Global Inc. and competition from Tether Limited. Using Circle's financial statements and accounting for the impact of the GENIUS Act and the operational risks highlighted by the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, a financial analyst had to assess the sustainability of Circle's business model and the risks it faced. For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

In October 2022, Adidas Group faced a significant public relations crisis involving its long-standing partnership with Kanye West, by then legally known as Ye. After terminating the partnership, Adidas was left with a substantial inventory of Ye-designed Yeezy sneakers and uncertainty about how to manage it. At the same time, Adidas was dealing with a shareholder lawsuit, with investors claiming the company failed to adequately disclose the risks associated with its Yeezy business. Adidas must now consider its options in dealing with the Yeezy inventory, the financial consequences for reporting how it dealt with the inventory, and any obligations it has considering the pending shareholder lawsuit For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

In July 2024, McDonald’s Corporation (McDonald’s) faced a strategic dilemma amid rising inflation and interest rates. The introduction of a $5 Meal Deal, designed to attract cost-sensitive customers, sparked concerns among franchisees about shrinking profit margins in the context of McDonald’s franchise-heavy model, which relied on revenue from rent and royalties. McDonald’s had also made substantial real estate investment a core part of its business strategy; this provided stable income but also brought significant liabilities. The company’s chief executive officer needed to consider how the $5 Meal Deal would affect McDonald’s financial resilience and margins in a high-inflation and high-interest-rate environment. What would its impact be on both franchised and company-operated restaurants? For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

Multinational transportation company Uber Technologies Inc. (Uber), based in California, had consistently provided stock and options to its employees, leading to substantial stock-based compensation expenses. Instead of the metrics used in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Uber had emphasized a non-GAAP earnings metric that excluded stock-based compensation expenses because they did not involve any cash outflows. Despite this, the company had announced its first-ever stock repurchase in 2024 to counter the share dilution from stock-based compensation. This raised questions about whether stock-based compensation should still be considered a non-cash expense. An analyst working on a valuation of the company wondered how to incorporate Uber’s stock buyback into her valuation model: should Uber’s financial performance and compensation metrics still exclude the stock-based compensation expense? For NUS Business School: (Faculty only) To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

In 2012, an equity research firm based in California accused Singapore-based Olam International Limited (Olam) of engaging in potentially misleading and dangerous accounting practices. The firm — Muddy Waters Research — further stated that Olam was on the verge of bankruptcy. The primary complaint made against Olam by Muddy Waters was that Olam allegedly made aggressive use of “non-cash accounting gains,” particularly when reporting on Olam’s biological assets. Olam’s share price tumbled after the accusations were made public. Olam defended itself by asserting that it had applied Singapore Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 41 — Agriculture appropriately and that the fair value gains of the biological assets were justifiably derived. FRS 41, equivalent to International Financial Accounting Standards 41 — Agriculture, required Singapore-listed companies to use fair value in the measurement of biological assets. This case examines the complex challenges that valuators face when presented with different valuation models, the application of financial reporting standards and the fine balance between reliability and relevance in the accounting of assets in the real world.