The Essays of Warren Buffett

FOREWORD. INTRODUCTION. PROLOGUE. I. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. A. Owner-Related Business Principles. B. Full and Fair Disclosure. C. Boards and Managers. D. The Anxieties of Plant Closings. E. An Owner-Based Approach to Corporate Charity. F. A Principled Approach to Executive Pay. II. CORPORATE FINANCE AND INVESTING. A. Mr. Market. B. Arbitrage. C. Debunking Standard Dogma. D. "Value" Investing: A Redundancy. E. Intelligent Investing. F. Cigar Butts and the International Imperative. III. ALTERNATIVES TO COMMON STOCK. A. Junk Bonds. B. Zero-Coupon Bonds. C. Preferred Stock. D. Unconventional Commitments. IV. COMMON STOCK. A. The Bane of Trading: Transaction Costs. B. Attracting the Right Sort of Investor. C. Dividend Policy and Share Repurchases. D. Stock Splits and Trading Activity. E. Shareholder Strategies. F. Berkshire's Recapitalization. V. MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS. A. Bad Motives and High Prices. B. Sensible Share Purchases Versus Greenmail. C. Leveraged Buyouts. D. Sound Acquisition Policies. E. On Selling One's Business. F. Advantages in Acquisitions. VI. ACCOUNTING AND VALUATION. A. A Satire on Accounting Shenanigans. B. Look-Through Earnings. C. Economic Goodwill Versus Accounting Goodwill. D. Owner Earnings and the Cash Flow Fallacy. E. Intrinsic Value, Book Value, and Market Price. F. Aesop and Inefficient Bush Theory. VII. ACCOUNTING POLICY AND TAX MATTERS. A. The Purchase-Pooling Debate. B. Stock Options. C. "Restructuring" Charges. D. Segment Data and Consolidation. E. Deferred Taxes. F. Retiree Benefits. G. Distribution of the Corporate Tax Burden. H. Taxation and Investment Philosophy. EPILOGUE. AFTERWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. INDEX. CONCEPT GLOSSARY. DISPOSITION TABLE.

Lawrence A. Cunningham is a Professor at George Washington University, Washington, DC, a leading authority on value investing and advocate for investors. He prepared this collection as the centerpiece of a symposium featuring Buffett's letters, held when Cunningham was Director of The Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Center on Corporate Governance at Cardozo Law School, New York City. His numerous other books include What Is Value Investing? , Outsmarting the Smart Money and How to Think Like Benjamin Graham and Invest Like Warren Buffett .

"...the only compendium of writings from the Sage of Omaha himself...a carefully chosen selection of Buffett's famous annual letters" (CityWire.co.uk, January 16th 2009)