Dreifus's Three Pillars

Our analysis has always drawn from the wisdom of three famous “teachers” of investing. Two, the late Benjamin Graham [considered the father of fundamental or value investing] and Warren Buffett [chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and a star pupil of Graham's], are relatively famous. The third, Abe Briloff, is less well known [he is currently Emanuel Saxe Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Baruch College in New York, and one of the foremost commentators on accountancy matters in the U.S.]. But perhaps Briloff is the most important of the three right now, given the problems of Enron and Global Crossing. Briloff has always argued–unfortunately, he’s been relatively unsuccessful thus far–that independent accountants should insist that a company portray its business condition in a manner as close to economic reality as possible. Briloff feels that accountants have a duty–and I fully agree–to steer companies in this direction, even if more aggressive approaches are offered within the menu of generally accepted accounting principles.