The Washington Post article, After Enron: New Doubts About Auditors, cites various accounting debacles including Enron Corp, Xerox Corp, Sunbeam Corp. and Waste Management Inc., and asks, "Can the public depend on the auditors?"

The "Big Five" -- composed of Arthur Andersen, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touche and Ernst & Young -- audit the majority of companies whose shares trade on the nation's stock markets. It goes without saying that the auditors representing these firms are powerful and influential.

States the article, "Licensed professionals are expected to do more than just make sure the numbers add up. They are supposed to check inventory, contact customers and perform other tests before putting their stamp of approval on reports that fairly present the company's financial results."

However, the article points out a handful of reasons why the Big Five are "at odds with the accounting industry's public watchdog mission." Major accounting firms often make more money from selling clients advice than they do from auditing their books; Auditors frequently leave their watchdog positions for jobs at the companies they audit; The profession has sought to insulate itself from responsibility for false or fraudulent accounting; the system can discourage thoroughness; and most importantly, the auditors are hired, fired and paid by the companies they are responsible for auditing.

The article also touches on the American Institute of CPAs "marketing liability" of the CPA designation and its proposed global credential. In a letter sent earlier this week, the AICPA warned state societies that the article in The Washington Post may be "very biased against the profession."

Read the article and tell us what you think! Email your comments to editor@smartpros.com.