Set in the late 1990's, Professional Skepticism takes up a timely matter in its portrayal of four accountants working for a Big Five accounting firm. The jockeying for position, power and money among the audit team is both hysterically funny and scarily dramatic. The team leader is Leo who suffers from emotional and professional disappointment, and tries to remain in a position of authority while his personal life is slipping away. Margaret -- entrenched in the old boys' network -- seeks respect and a deserved promotion, even during character attacks. Greg uses politics, religion and popularity to hide his dark secret from the audit team. And Paul, our naïve hero, struggles to find his place as a new auditor under the cloak of his own private ambitions. Taking place over a four week period, the Mason Industries' audit scandal will change these characters into today's headline-making personalities.

Information about the 2006 Centre Stage production.
More about the 2004 national tour.
Click here for production photos.

Selected Press Quotes:
If you thought accountants lived lives as gray as their double-entry numbers, then James Rasheed's hilarious new play 'Professional Skepticism' ought to correct your (understandable) miscalculation.... The playwright speaks with rare authority and insight as well as mathematically precise shafts of wit.... Rasheed sets forth the basic issues of a corporate audit with such clarity and succinctness that even the mathematically challenged can understand them. His dialogue is sharp and funny and the dramatic situation he depicts has a universality that speaks to any viewer. -- The Boston Globe.

In the wake of revelations about Enron, WorldCom and the once prestigious accounting firm of Arthur Andersen, Rasheed's 'Professional Skepticism,' written before news of these financial debacles broke, seems prescient. -- Cape Cod Times.

Obviously blessed with Cassandra-like powers of prophecy as well as with the secrets lost in the shredding machines! -- The Boston Phoenix.