Teaching Management Control Dysfunction Using Observations of <scp>CEO</scp> Leadership at Wells Fargo ^*

ABSTRACT The focus of this teaching case is an actual instance of management control (MC) dysfunction that was prompted by ongoing crises at Wells Fargo Bank. MC is an interdisciplinary field of learning that integrates a variety of management disciplines, such as leadership, accounting, performance measurement, governance, and ethics. The case uses the official transcript of questioning of the then‐CEO of Wells Fargo, John Stumpf, by Senator Elizabeth Warren during a US Senate hearing entitled “An Examination of Wells Fargo's Unauthorized Accounts and the Regulatory Response.” Exposure of the “unauthorized accounts” was a forerunner to the highlighting of several Wells Fargo scandals in following years. At times, the questioning of Stumpf was adversarial, and it provides an opportunity to examine leadership‐in‐action from an MC (and related) perspective. By employing real company events, we demonstrate how to develop an understanding by students that MC is a multifaceted, interdisciplinary area of learning. The case enhances students' opportunities to critically evaluate MC‐in‐action.