Greg Haycock is proof positive of what Bermudian accountants might realistically aspire to - the top.

Of course, Mr. Haycock isn't the first Bermudian to successfully scale the proverbial corporate ladder at a local accounting firm - there are numerous others including his predecessor, Robert Steinhoff - but he does face the challenge of taking over the reins of one of Bermuda's largest audit firms at a time when the industry is under ever-increasing scrutiny from regulators in multiple jurisdictions.

The hyper-vigilance over the industry - indeed, some regulatory bodies, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), now hold powers beyond their country's borders - is the direct result of a wave of high-profile corporate scandals at such public companies as Enron and WorldCom.

In those cases, auditors have been cited as signing off on corporation's books - which were allegedly cooked - without the necessary due diligence. The end result was that shareholders were cheated out of millions and millions in invested funds.

In an active bid to prevent this from happening in future, accountants are now - on a global scale - being expected to be exacting and rigorous in their audits of firms. The focus is most intently cast towards the accounting of publicly-listed companies but even privately-held firms are, more and more, moving towards the same level of due diligence.

This shift in the business climate though is something KPMG thought through in appointing its next in command. In fact, the decision was made to turn the tiller over to not one but two of its most able-bodied accountants - Mr. Haycock and Steve Green, who assumed second-in-command as managing partner.

This week Mr. Haycock, who now holds the post of senior partner, and Mr. Green sat down with The Royal Gazette to talk through who they are, what got them into the accounting profession in the first place, and how things have changed in the profession, especially under the corporate governance microscope.

Who they are:

Both Mr. Haycock and Mr. Green claim they more or less "fell into" the accounting profession.

In Mr. Haycock's situation, he had already earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of Richmond in Virginia. Eager to advance further, he seized an opportunity to study for another professional designation by joining PriceWaterhouse in Toronto and working towards becoming a chartered accountant.

Mr. Haycock said it was a win-win situation as he got paid to both work and study: "For a Bermudian to go and live in Toronto, and be paid to work and study, was an outstanding opportunity...," he said.

That same kind of opportunity is one that both Mr. Haycock and Mr. Green now actively encourage young Bermudians with an interest and aptitude in the accounting profession to take through the firm they now head. The two also endeavour to provide off-Island work experiences to up-and-coming professionals in the company, through secondment to overseas KPMG offices.

For his part, Mr. Green - who is from the U.K.- originally set his sights on becoming an airline pilot with British Airways. That plan fell through though when BA hit a patch of bad years and suspended its new pilots sponsorship programme.

Faced with what to do next, Mr. Green took advice from some friends studying finance at Newcastle University.

Those friends extolled the virtues of being a student there. Mr. Green picked accounting because he figured it would be "good grounding".

The rest is history, so to speak, with Mr. Haycock being recruited back to Bermuda in 1975 - then in his 20s - by local firm Pearman Watlington. He would join KPMG's Bermuda office in 1985 as a partner.

Meanwhile, Mr. Green - who had started his accounting career with KPMG in England - transferred to the Bermuda office in 1989 and was promoted to partner in 1994.

Now the two have reached what could be considered the top of their game. Both recognise that there are increasing pressures on their profession - and it is in everybody's best interest to have two doing what was before the responsibility of one.

But beyond that, neither Mr. Haycock or Mr. Green wanted to devote all of their time to the administration of the company. Their happy compromise lets them share the running of the firm while still doing client work.

On average, they say 60 percent of their focus is administrative and the balance of their hours goes to "getting out to see clients".

Outside of work - although both conceded that they spend a lot of time in the office and with clients - their time is devoted to family, and neither are opposed to a game of golf when possible. Mr. Haycock, however, tries to break up his recreational activity on a seasonal basis - summer is for sailing and during the winter, he takes whatever opportunity he can to get out on the links.

Mr. Haycock met his wife Pat, when she came to the Island from Canada to visit friends one summer. The couple have two adult children - Sarah and Nancy, who are both in England working respectively as a lawyer and speech and language therapist.

Mr. Green actually met his wife, Cheryl, through work as she had joined KPMG in Bermuda a year or two before him.

Also a chartered accountant, Mrs. Green went on to run a sizeable mutual fund.

She now devotes her time to the care of their family, twins Amy and Ben.

Zero Tolerance:

Mr. Haycock said in this week's interview that as the new head of KPMG - he has held the spot since Mr. Steinhoff stepped down on June 27, 2003 - his focus is on ensuring that the firm delivers a high-quality of service to clients.

And both he and Mr. Green said they felt the KPMG team - the two are now charged with leading 160 staff in total, of which one-quarter of professional staff are Bermudian - have the motivation and level of commitment to meet that lofty goal.

Neither denied that being an accountant today is a tall order. Mr. Green added: "It is a fairly tough career and things are changing monthly. And there is now zero tolerance for audit failure," he said.

In terms of the changes that are facing the industry, the bulk of those are coming from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a group set up under last year's Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. In effect, the PCAOB - or Peek-a-Boo as it is sometimes referred to in industry circles - now has broad powers that allow it to oversee the accounting of any US-listed firm.

That would include the work done by the local KPMG office, when it comes to its audit of Bermuda-based firms that are listed on any of the American exchanges.

As a result, the firm has found that it must, like all other accounting companies, ensure its independence when it comes to auditing a company's books. That means it can't offer certain services - in total KPMG operates in four core areas; audit, risk advisory services, tax advisory services and financial advisory services - to its audit clients. But despite the challenges, both Mr. Haycock and Mr. Green boldly declare their intent of being the "preferred Bermuda provider" to its audit and non-audit clients.