Morgan Stanley Case

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is a publicly traded financial services company which came into existence as the result of a merger in the mid-1990s. In addition to offering stock trading services, the company also issues the Discover card, and participates in financing initial public offerings. This research examines the company's recent financial performance and considers the 1998 annual report issued by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. In addition, the outlook for this company is considered based on this information.

Dean Witter was formed in the mid-1920s in San Francisco; Morgan Stanley was formed in the mid-1930s in response to the Glass-Steagall Banking Act which placed restrictions on the banking industry. The two firms competed throughout the twentieth century with Dean Witter often taking major steps several years ahead of Morgan Stanley (for example, Dean Witter gained a seat on the New York Stock Exchange well before Morgan Stanley. Mergers and acquisitions characterized Dean Witter's growth while Morgan Stanley generated growth from within. Both companies were early implementers of computers and electronic data processing within their organizations. Dean Witter became a publicly traded company in 1972 and was acquired by Sears in 1981; Morgan Stanley went public in 1986, the same year that Dean Witter launched the Discover card on a nationwide basis. In 1992 and 1993, Sears spun off Dean Witter, and the two companies merged in 1997 with head

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hich conducted an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The auditors did not conduct an audit to determine whether the information provided on the financial statements was correct or accurate, but instead audited the statements to determine whether they were created using accepted accounting principles. The auditors make no statement regarding the integrity of the information included on the statements, but do maintain that the information contained in the financial statements does meet the standards used throughout the industry (1998 Annual Report, 1998, p. 53). The auditors are also careful to note that the financial statements cover the period during which the merger of Dean Witter and Morgan Stanley took place. Deloitte and Touche were not the auditors for the organization prior to that merger, and so are not able to comment on the financial statements or information prepared before that time (1998 Annual Report, 1998, p. 53). This can be an important consideration if investors are concerned that the merger might be used to camouflage some critical pieces of financial information about one or the other companies involved. Given that both companies were publicly traded at the time of the merger,

Category: Economics - M