Francine McKenna isn’t afraid to take on the big four auditing firms or the rich and powerful. Look for her column, Accounting Watchdog at Forbes.com. The following is an extended excerpt from a recent post, The Berkshire Hathaway Corporate Governance Performance. “Buffett judges the investments he makes ruthlessly, but allows his operating companies to run on autopilot.” […]
Tag Archives | Buffett
Governance is More than Skin Deep!
James McRitchie, 08/31/2011 ,
In a recent Forbes article entitled Warren Buffett, And His Board, May be Too Old to Run Berkshire Hathaway, Francine McKenna makes the case for both greater vigilance by Berkshire investors (including the author) and a different concept of corporate governance. Ms. McKenna may well be right as to her ultimate conclusion, although Berkshire’s performance […]
Buffett Needs to Tighten Up
James McRitchie, 04/02/2011 ,
What is galling about Buffett’s stance is not the recitation of facts, but the way they were spun to make Sokol’s actions look benign. “Dave’s purchases were made before he had discussed Lubrizol with me and with no knowledge of how I might react to his idea,” he writes. “In addition, of course, he did […]
Billionaires Giveaway: Who is Worthy?
James McRitchie, 08/16/2010 ,
I’m sure many recall the recent spate of articles on the results of a request by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett to get billionaires joining in something of a movement to promise at least half of their fortunes to charity. (Pledge to Give Away Half Gains Billionaire Adherents, NYTimes, 8/4/10) One report noted, […]
Reign of the Shareholder is Over?
James McRitchie, 06/11/2010 ,
I just returned from ICGN 2010 (and will post on that next week). Among the thousands of e-mails I received during my week of absence, one stands out (although I haven’t gone through them all). Brendan Sheehan, the usually thoughtful Executive Editor of the Corporate Secretary, posits the “Reign of the Shareholder is Over” because […]