In the aftermath of the investment scandals of the 1920's and the Great Crash, the accounting profession convinced Congress it should be given the responsibility of auditing all public companies. That decision was not reached without debate. "Who audits you?" demanded Rep. Alben Barkley of Kentucky during a 1933 Congressional hearing. "Our conscience," replied Col. Arthur Carter, managing partner of Haskins & Sells, predecessor of today's Deloitte & Touche.

Recent escapades including the collapse of firms like Arthur Andersen have shown us that after many quiet, healthy decades following Congress' decision, the conscience of the accounting profession became lethally vulnerable. The decay of this conscience was a key factor in the slide of the US financial markets, a slide that wiped $7 trillion from the assets of the investing public.

Making recommendations for potential reforms in auditing and investment analysis was the challenge posed to more than 250 students as part of the 2002 CollegeNET Scholarship essay contest. Nominated by college and university admissions offices around the country, the finalists wrote and submitted their ideas. The following winners were chosen.

The 2002 first place award of $10,000 went to Leah T. Wurm, College of Saint Benedict, for her well written, balanced essay "Reviving America's Markets."

The 2002 second place award of $5,000 went to Haley Beth Ruddell of Dominican University of California for her ideas in "Solutions for Reducing Conflicts of Interest in The Corporate Information Business."

The 2002 third place award of $1,000 went to Rachel L. Binkley of Middle Tennessee State University for her well researched essay "Reassuring American Investors In the Twenty-First Century."

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