“Warren Buffett was preparing to address the media last week on California’s budget crisis when he had a crisis of his own. A precious document had been misplaced. Finding the confidential file nearby, he quickly plopped his coat over it before anyone caught a glimpse,” writes Monica Langley in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“State secrets? Not exactly.”

“It was the draft of Mr. Buffett’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders. A must-read in the financial world, Mr. Buffett’s letter is coveted by investors. It sometimes moves markets. It’s often controversial, and entertaining. The 73-year-old investor will reveal it Saturday around 9 a.m. EST on Berkshire’s Web site. Says Mr. Buffett, ‘I protect it like it’s the secret formula to Coke.’ “

“The letter — 12,500 words over 21 pages — will recount his company’s performance and Mr. Buffett’s investment moves in the past year. It also will reveal Mr. Buffett’s thoughts on the economy, markets and the state of American capitalism.”

“Other chief executive officers, politicians and investors will scrutinize the letter and its predictions because Mr. Buffett’s messages have at times been barometers of future corporate issues. Mr. Buffett attacked CEO greed as early as 1992, for instance, and abuse of stock options during their heyday in 1998.”

“Most corporate annual reports are slick — and boring. Mr. Buffett’s are folksy, sprinkled with bad jokes and quotes from luminaries, ranging from Mae West to Yogi Berra.”

” ‘His reports have become a kind of “Prairie Home Companion” in which Wall Street is Lake Wobegon,’ says Andrew Kilpatrick, a longtime Buffettologist. ‘Buffett sets out to tell what awful truths are there.’ “

“Some critics aren’t amused. Shelley Taylor, a management consultant who issues analyses of annual reports, rates Mr. Buffett’s document as one of the worst by companies in the Fortune 50 (the top tier of the Fortune 500). The problems, she says: a failure to strategically review operations and provide concrete objectives for his shareholders. ‘His letter is far too personal and comes off as a one-man show,’ Ms. Taylor asserts. ‘Portfolio managers are getting younger and won’t be enamored of his style that can be a bit insulting.’ “

“Mr. Buffett shrugs off the criticism. He says his letters show how he treats shareholders like long-term partners rather than investors who zig in and out with market gyrations. But Mr. Buffett also uses the letter as a bully pulpit of sorts, to ignite debate on hot business issues.”

“This year’s opus is likely to attack expanding tax breaks to corporations and the rich, including the recent dividend-tax cut, which he believes boosts the tax burden of the working class.”

“Shareholders are gearing up. Jack Benvent, a 41-year-old Berkshire investor in Mountain Lakes, N.J., told his wife to cancel their antiquing plans for this weekend. ‘She can’t understand why I want to plant myself in front of the computer to read a letter from a guy in Omaha,’ he says.”

“He compares the letter to baseball’s ‘opening day,’ adding that he will exchange messages all weekend with dozens of other shareholders in various Berkshire-related chat rooms.”

“Even Mr. Buffett’s management team anxiously awaits the boss’s letter, which will praise some Berkshire firms and criticize others. ‘It’s our report card from Warren,’ says Joseph Brandon, CEO of General Re Corp., a big insurance subsidiary, who postponed his Saturday plans until the afternoon. ‘It’s the only company in the world where your performance review is a public document.’ “