A reader has rightly taken me to task for the disgraceful litany of cheap juvenile jibes which belittle accountants, a much maligned group of dedicated and hard-working professionals providing an invaluable service to the national economy. He says it's time this column evolved from the amoeba stage, moving up the evolutionary ladder to belittle an even grimmer bunch, namely - auditors . He offers the following, bless him. An auditor, he contends, is someone who arrives after the battle and bayonets all the wounded. What, he asks, is the most wicked thing a group of testosterone-charged young auditors can do? Go into town and gang-audit someone. A Martian lands to plunder, pillage and burn. He goes up to the owner of the first house he sees. "We're from the other side of the galaxy. We're here to make all life on earth extinct . Kiss your civilisation goodbye. What do you think about that? The owner replies "I don't have an opinion. I'm an auditor".