Beginning with the Enron debacle more than a decade ago, and continuing through the Bernie Madoff scandal of recent years, there has been much discussion regarding the relative roles and responsibility of the SEC and the independent auditors and accountants in safeguarding the investing public from unscrupulous business practices, including the implementation of Sarbanes Oxley requirements. To what extent does an independent accountant owe allegiance to the client company who has engaged him or her (by providing consultative services to improve the financial reporting, for example), as opposed to strict allegiance to investors by acting in a totally independent manner? Is there a middle ground