Tell us what you really think Harry...

Here's a juicy quote from Harry Markopolos regarding the SEC's ability to find fraud:

Harry Markopolos, the fraud investigator who brought his allegations to the S.E.C. about improprieties in Mr. Madoff’s business starting in 2000, testified that the agency’s staff “was not capable of finding ice cream in a Dairy Queen.”

I wonder what he thinks about the ability of independent auditors to detect fraud...I'm not trying to defend the SEC or disparage auditors but it might be interesting to evaluate the number of frauds detected as a function of resources devoted to auditing or detecting material fraud between these two institutions who are both charged with responsibilities for fraud detection: the SEC and independent auditors. Anyone have a guess as to which mechanism would have the best track record?