O2: oxygen of publicity: the accountancy profession has been the subject of especially intense public scrutiny over the past 12 months--for all the wrong reasons. Ruth Prickett delivers her financial review of the year and asks the experts what the prospects are for global economic thaw in 2003.

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Cover Feature Annual Review

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O2: oxygen of publicity: the accountancy profession has been the subject of especially intense public scrutiny over the past 12 months--for all the wrong reasons. Ruth Prickett delivers her financial review of the year and asks the experts what the prospects are for global economic thaw in 2003.

It's hard to think of any industry which could argue convincingly that the past year has been the best of times--in fact, many could complain that it's been the worst of times. One thing that 2002 has not been, however, is dull.

On the world scene, honours for the most exciting stories must go to the dramatic collapses of Enron (January), followed by WorldCom (June). That these companies should announce huge losses was startling enough, but the fact that they had been concealing them through fraudulent accounting caused an international outcry. Next to lose its head in the furore was Andersen, a break-up almost more shocking for many accountants than the fraud revelations themselves.

The WorldCom saga rumbles on. In November the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the telecoms firm had admitted concealing $9 billion in expenses--more than double the original sum revealed in the summer--and converting them into false profits. Soon after that revelation, Harvey Pitt, the commission's chairman, resigned amid criticism over his management of the crisis.

These scandals triggered debates worldwide on corporate governance and transparency, strengthened calls for the adoption of internatio...

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