Is Warren Buffett's Commentary on Accounting, Governance and Investing Practices Reflected in the Investment Decisions and Subsequent Influence of Berkshire Hathaway?

Abstract

We examine (i) whether the business practices of Berkshire Hathaway investees are consistent with Warren Buffett’s public statements on what constitutes good accounting, governance and investing practices and (ii) whether these practices are associated with Berkshire’s initial “selection” or Buffett’s subsequent “influence.” Compared to control firms, we find that Berkshire investees are highly likely to follow Buffett’s investment philosophy, somewhat likely to follow his preferred accounting, disclosure and compensation policies, but unlikely to follow the board-related governance practices that we can measure. Second, we find some evidence that the business practices of future Berkshire investees are more aligned with Buffett’s beliefs in the pre-investment period compared to control firms. Third, we find relatively modest evidence that investees improve a few of their business practices subsequent to Berkshire’s initial investment. However, overall, Buffett does not appear to be especially influential in the subsequent accounting, governance and investing decisions of Berkshire investees, likely because he has already taken into account the attributes he cares most about in the initial investment decision.

Keywords: Accounting practices, compensation, governance, transparency, investment, financing, selection, influence, activism, board composition

JEL Classification: G10, G11, G30, G31, G34, M41