Mr. Buffett: Well, I think there's a Schedule M on the corporate tax return that does provide for the IRS, at least, an explanation of the difference between book accounting and tax accounting. And, you can get at some of the more important points by looking at the deferred tax asset and the deferred tax liability in the financial statements, which you'd have to compare to the previous year to make certain deductions about what has happened. But, you can get at that information, to some degree.

I — if I can get on a soap box for a second, though — I really think that the disclosure problem does not revolve around the quantity of disclosure. I mean, the SEC and the auditing profession have provided us with, you know, just a wealth of information on a quantitative basis. But, in the end, it's the CEO that determines the qualitative aspect of disclosure, and that's all important.

And, I think, under any rules, the CEO, if he or she wants to obfuscate, they can do that; and if they want to make it clear, they can do that. If they want to provide you with fluff, they can do that. If they want to provide you with substance, they can do that.

The CEO will look at any rules through his own particular glasses, and either look at them as a way to give his shareholders more information, or to do some kind of tap dance number. And, I would suggest that — I would suggest some certain behavior for the CEO, and then I would suggest a way of possibly enforcing it.

I would suggest that the CEO regard himself as the chief disclosure officer of a company, that he write his own letter. And, he can certainly call on an editor. I have the world's best editor, who is here today, Carol Loomis. And, it's enormously useful to have a wonderful editor. But, the CEO should still write the letter.