Doing the accounts

Ask anyone studying economics what they intend to do once they’ve completed their degree, and you can be sure that most will say they want to work "in marketing", "in sales", or "in an international company". Very few will admit that they want to work "in auditing" or "in accounting" any more.

Auditors and accountants have always had a reputation for being, well, not very exciting. Number crunchers are not usually hired for their conversational skills or for their entertainment value. The qualities for book-keeping and cost accounting are essentially mathematical competence, analytical ability and honesty. To be an auditor for a major TMT (technology, media, telecommunication) company, the same skills are usually required, but with one small difference. Could you replace honesty with dishonesty?

Star performances

Corporate malfeasance is on the increase. This hall of fame now includes Enron, WorldCom, Vivendi Universal and Xerox, with star performances by auditors Arthur Anderson (auditor for Enron and WorldCom, adviser to Vivendi). The scandals have frightened investors and led politicians in the US and the UK to look at ways to prevent them in future.

Overstated profits, overpaid executives, overvalued stocks and overstretched budgets are partly to blame for the scandals. In addition, some CFOs haven't exactly been paying attention to their book-keeping skills. Perhaps they should take another look at the real meaning of the terminology used to talk about profits and losses. Maybe they should try our quiz!

Deborah Capras