THOMAS L. BARTON is Kathryn and Richard Kip Professor of Accounting and KPMG Research Fellow of Accounting at the University of North Florida. He holds a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Florida and is a certified public accountant (CPA). Dr. Barton has over 35 professional publications, including research articles in Barron's, Decision Sciences, Abacus, Advances in Accounting, CPA Journal, and Management Accounting. He coauthored the 1998 Financial Executives Research Foundation study, Open Book Management: Creating an Ownership Culture. He received the Lybrand Silver Medal for his article, "A System is Born: Management Control at American Transtech." Dr. Barton is the creator of the Minimum Total Propensity to Disrupt method of allocating gains from cooperative ventures. This method has been the subject of several articles in Decision Sciences. He is also a recognized expert in the application of management controls to highly creative activities. Dr. Barton has taught over 100 professional development seminars and has extensive consulting experience with a wide cross section of organizations in the public and private sectors. Dr. Barton is the recipient of several teaching awards for his undergraduate and graduate work. He was a winner of the State University System of Florida's prestigious Teacher Incentive Program award in 1994, the program's inaugural year.

WILLIAM G. SHENKIR is William Stamps Farish Professor of Free Enterprise at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. He was dean of the McIntire School from 1977 to 1992, and was formerly Technical Advisor and Project Director for the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Shenkir's research and consulting interests include management accounting, open book management, and risk management. He has served as Faculty Fellow for Price Waterhouse and Exxon; as auditor for the United States Air Force Auditor General's office; and on the board of directors for Dominion Bankshares Corporation, First Union National Bank of Virginia, and ComSonics. His publications include Open-Book Management: Creating An Ownership Culture (with Thomas L. Barton and Thomas N. Tyson).

PAUL L. WALKER is Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. His research and consulting interests include audit markets, audit failures, and auditor independence, as well as audit regulation, risk, and fees. He has served in the Audit Division at Ernst & Young, in the Tax Division at KPMG Peat Marwick, and in the Securities Clearance & Operations, Internal Audit, Data Processing organization at InterFirst Bank, Dallas, TX.