There are as many lessons to learn from Enron, World Com, Adelphia and Parmalat as there are from a 14th century ledger and other historical treasures housed at the National Library of the Accounting Profession at Ole Miss, delegates said.

On Wednesday, Eugene Flegm, the former auditor of General Motors Corp., bemoaned the lack of rear end-kickers in the accounting profession. Accountants should not be afraid to stand up to the pressure from CEOs looking to exaggerate profits to impress stockholders.

According to Flegm, a number of factors in modern accounting practices created the conditions for a "perfect storm," in which the scandals of the past three years were nearly inevitable. A lack of business ethics, a congressional misunderstanding of the role of the Securities and Exchange Commission, pressure from company boards of directors, and poor internal controls all contributed to a bad environment, Flegm said.

Most of all, Flegm said, public accounting became a commodity, and accounting firms became financially dependent on the companies for whom they should have been watchdogs.