Corporate Governance Summary and Analysis

Buffet claims many annual meetings as a waste time for both shareholders and management. Managers may be unwilling to discuss substantive business issues and stockholders may be more interested in stating personal concerns than company ideas. Berkshire meetings are conducted like the business forum Buffet and Munger believe is valuable to inform business owners about the year's business growth and development. To reach that goal, Buffett conducts an open-ended meeting. Any and all questions can be asked and are answered by them except for investment strategies that may cost the company money.

Fourteen owner-related business principles are listed that Buffett uses to guide Berkshire business operations and shareholder meetings. Berkshire is a public corporation, but Buffett and Munger see themselves as general partners responsible to other shareholders as long-term owner-partners. The corporation is a mechanism by which fellow partners...