Prof's thoughts on Dell

While much of the media coverage of the impact of Dell’s recent accounting practices has been negative, Harlan Platt, a finance professor and corporate management expert at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University, actually believes that this might be the time to buy Dell stock.

“Dell has stumbled in the market place during the past 2 years. Now their accounting practices are surfacing as another area of shortcoming,” Prof. Platt points out. “For several years Michael Dell had turned the reigns over to others as he attempted to change his role. Last month he returned to active duty. It is probable that this accounting information is now coming out because of Mr. Dell's return and re-involvement. “Dell stock in the aftermarket was down $2, but in today's trading it is nearly unchanged,” Prof Platt adds. “If I am correct, however, then this may be the ideal time to pick up Dell stock since it has identified ‘all’ of its issues and can now begin to address them.”

Below is Prof. Platt’s bio:

Harlan D. Platt, Donald J. Harding Professor of Finance, Finance and Insurance Group. Professor Platt’s research and consulting interests include corporate bankruptcy, crisis management, and short-term equity price recoveries. He created the certification exam for the Turnaround Management Association. Harlan is a member of the board of directors of Republic Financial Corporation and the advisory board of XRoads Solutions LLC. He previously served on the board of companies on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dublin Stock Exchange and the NADAQ. Before joining the College of Business Administration faculty in 1981, he was director of electricity research and forecasting for Data Resources, Inc. Professor Platt holds a BA from Northwestern University and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan. He is the author of eight books including Why Companies Fail: Strategies for Detecting, Avoiding and Profiting from Bankruptcy; The First Junk Bond: A Story of Corporate Boom and Bust; Principles of Corporate Renewal, A Casebook on Corporate Renewal; The Phoenix Effect: 9 Revitalizing Strategies No Business Can Do Without; Chipping: The New Stock Market Method for Surviving Turbulence and Hitting a Hole in One; and Counterintuitive Investing. His articles have appeared in a number of publications including Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Business Finance and Accounting; Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance; Journal of Economics and Business; Journal of Business Research; Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics; and The Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. In 1997-1998, he was the Klein Lecturer at Northeastern University. Professor Platt was the Associate Editor-Finance for the Journal of Business Research.