To complete the synthesis of pipercyclobutanamide A (5), a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) olefination reaction took place between molecule (20) and an Ando phosphonate (21). While it is easy to obtain trans isomers, since the trans isomer is thermodynamically favored, there are only a limited number of methods to prepare cis isomers. Thus, Ando proposes the use of analogous phosphonates in his methodology for cis-selective unsaturated amide synthesis. The cis selectivity was found to increase as the size of the substituent increased. The t-Bu substituted phosphonate reagent resulted in the highest cis selectivity. The reaction of aldehyde 20 with phosphonate 21, in the presence of potassium tert-butoxide, was fairly selective and resulted in an 80% yield of an approximately 5:1 (cis/trans) mixture of isomers. When Ando performed a reaction using an aldehyde and a previously synthesized, analogous phosphonate in the presence of t-BuOK, at -78°C to 0°C, he received a 91% yield of product in a 95:5 (cis/trans) mixture. This reaction resulted in the second highest yield, after the reaction that used t-BuONa as the base and provided a 98% yield.