Posted By:
Jodi BirkholmJT,
Your idea is interesting, but I really don't see how it could be pulled off with any modicum of success based on the following scenarios:
1. If the third-party auditor were already a part of this industry, who's to say that he wouldn't let certain issues slide by simply because he happens to be friendly with the company being audited? How can anybody truly be put in that place of trust? It's a different situation from card grading or autograph authentication, as this "auditor" does not require a talent for doing what he does--they just have to be honest. Granted, he/she would need to know the ins and outs of the industry. How would people go about selecting such a person? Who would appoint them? The FBI? Would the auction houses have any say in the matter?
2. Let's say an agent from the appropriate branch of the government was made "Chief Auditor". It goes without saying that the people at the auction houses know their industry far better than this unbiased government representative. If the company at hand has deceitful intent, it really would not be too difficult an undertaking to pull the wool over the government's eyes. Fraud is fraud, but I really don't think a few scant years of studying this industry is any match for somebody who has been involved full-time in the hobby for several decades.