Accountant fees

It is to those who are regulated. But its those accountants that are unregulated and in some cases unqualified where the problem largely is (in my opinion)
Fair point. I was commenting on the regulated accountants.
 
Oddly enough, most if not all of the major accounting scandals both in Ireland and elsewhere over the past 10-20 years have involved the large multinational firms, who tend to dominate the Institutes who regulate the profession as a whole. Unregulated accountants may have no regulatory supervision as such, but they still have a legally enforceable duty of care towards their clients and paradoxically as a group have a better record in avoiding scandal and wrongdoing than some of the largest and most prestigious elements within the profession.