by Harry Mayers

TWO WEEKS AGO we reported that auditors are to be audited by an independent body being set up by the accounting profession.

This intriguing business of getting watchmen to watch watchmen springs from the scandals that have clouded the profession, most notably the collapse of Enron, once called "America's Most Innovative Company" by authoritative magazine Fortune.

While much public focus has been on executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling who duped hundreds of Wall Street analysts, I've discoved that we don't know much about Richard Kinder (who was to have become CEO but didn't) and Bill Morgan, who both have come
out smiling all the way to the bank.

Kinder and Morgan, as business partners, bought some discarded "old economy" pipelines from Enron for $40 million. The business they started is now reportedly valued at $13 billion.

At the time of the sale Enron wanted to get rid of its pipeline assets cheaply in order to concentrate on e-commerce and energy trading instead.

Kinder and Morgan figured they would stick with the old economy and invest the old-time way – buy at a bargain, wait a bit, and then profit.

The oldsters say it's all about discipline and patience.

Now I'll have to keep my eyes on Kinder and Morgan just to see if they have been employing another principle – good-old-time honesty.

Failing that we'll just have to have another team of watchmen.