"There was a great mistrust of accounting in the hands of financiers, industrialists, and politicians. Indeed, trained originally as an accountant and auditor, John D. Rockefeller, the richest man in the world, would be revered buy also referred to in pejorative terms as "that bloodless, Baptist bookkeeper."Gone were the great paintings of accountants as glorious patrons, dramatically fallen sinners, or smiling captains of finance and industry. Instead, dour portraits of professionals in black suits would come to define accountants until this day as serious, even dull arbiters of financial numbers."

The quote goes on to say "Their [accountants] role as ambiguous: They could aid capitalism and government or, through cooked books, impede them both."

Is this a fair characterization of accountants? Please discuss..

"To view accountants strictly as profit-oriented, cold blooded, calculating beings is unreasonable and comes from the application of the reputation of bad actors to the entire field". Do you agree with this statement?