Who Do You Trust? Accountants, Survey Says

The folks at Ernst & Young are trumpeting a survey of executives who attended a recent conference in Orange County on initial public offerings: They rated accountants above others as their most trusted business advisors during the IPO process.

“While venture capitalists and investment bankers gain the lion’s share of the headlines, [entrepreneurs] think their accountant is the ‘most important business advisor for a company as they decide whether or not to go public,’ ” the company boasted in a press release.

About 26% of the executives selected their accountants as their top advisor. Bankers came in second at 24%, venture capitalists third at 22% and lawyers fourth at 13%.

The accounting firm sponsored the conference and the survey.

Karen Alexander covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5637 or at karen.alexander@latimes.com.