USA says accountants are OK

By Anna Maria Greene

They may not be the biggest stars at the moment, but according to a recent poll, accountants south of the border are still average or better in terms of honesty and integrity.

The poll, conducted by CNN, Gallup Organization and USA Today, asked a random sample of 1,005 adults to rate the honesty and ethical standards of people in 23 professional fields. Accountants just missed making the top 10 list, with 41% of those interviewed seeing them as having high or very high standards. Dentists beat them out of 10th place, earning a vote of confidence from 56% of the American public.

In contrast, only 19% and 18% of the respondents considered stockbrokers and lawyers to be consistently honest in their dealings. But just one group - car salesmen - were rated less than average by a majority (52% of the public deemed them either low or very low on honesty and ethics).

In the wake of September 11, it's perhaps not surprising that it was the men and women in full-fledged uniform - firefighters, nurses and members of the US military - who came out shining. A full 90% of Americans rated firefighters as high or very high on the honesty/integrity scale.