Sorry Seriph, but you are ignoring the history of several airlines. Sir Michael Bishop started off as an ops clerk and there have been many others. There have also been many cases of non-practising accountants moving into top management and doing a good job. There has even been the odd pilot making the grade!
What pilots object to are the accountants employed as accountants who fail in the requirement to be either numerate or honest. Since this thread started several more cases have come to light that involve billions of mis-placed money. We are not moaning about the odd accountancy error-just the ones that cost multitudes of shareholders their savings and multitudes of employees their jobs.
I believe that over the next few months, the self-regulation that accountants have always enjoyed, will be changed for draconian controls and mandatory jail time. Perhaps, but this is a personal flight of fantasy, we may also see a higher level of integrity from the politicians who might stop taking "contributions" from firms like Andersen's in return for an easy ride.
(And before you leap in to defend politicians-I am not accusing everyone of them of being bent!)
Just seen in the Sunday Times in a cartoon, a bearded protester carrying a placard that reads:
"Crush Capitalism-employ an accountant".
Last edited by Lou Scannon; 30th June 2002 at 16:51.