Auditing failures and scandals have become commonplace. In response, reformers (including the Kingman Review in the U.K and a recent report of the U.K.'s Competition and Market Authority) have proposed a variety of remedies, including prophylactic bans on auditors providing consulting services...

John Coffee, a leading international expert on business and law, traces the evolution of the four main 'gatekeeping' professions: auditors, lawyers, securities analysts, and credit-rating agencies. Against the backdrop of 'the failure of the dogs to bark' at Enron and Worldcom, he examines the...