I work in a highly regulated industry. We have three external auditors that I'm familiar with. On for IT specific issues, another for business process flow, and yet another for something that I'm not entirely familiar... (Can you say SAS70?)

That's not to mention the standard accounting audits and such.

Then there's group internal audit...

All this is well and good. but as someone mentioned previously, "Locks keep honest people out." (paraphrased)

Again, this concept of watching the watchers was touched before, and will again. It comes down to having to trust SOMEONE at some point.

Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. - C. S. Lewis

Perfect courage is to do without witnesses what one would be capable of doing with the world looking on. - François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld

I guess it comes to a point where what matters is the character of the individual. To quote one of my favorite movies, "Ethics..."

-Jon Polito as Johnny Caspar. I'll save you the whole line, but if interested check out "Miller's Crossing" (And the name has nothing to do with it.)