Mr Berardino's defence, beyond accusing Enron of withholding information, is that the accountancy profession as a whole is at fault, and a few others as well, such as credit-rating agencies and investment bankers.

ECONOMIST: ??Errors of judgment?? are piling up at Andersen

Mr Berardino won much of the credit.

ECONOMIST: Face value

On Friday, listeners will be hoping that Mr Berardino, whose company failed to uncover a slew of hidden debts while auditing bankrupt energy trading giant Enron, will explain how the accountancy profession aims to reassure investors that its audits can be relied on.

BBC: US Secretary of State Colin Powell