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Cobby33Peter: I'm with you- but I do see Adam's point as well. Just as subsequent home buyers can sue the developer for construction defects (under a negligence theory), there is caselaw that protects subsequent purchasers of certain items.
On the flip side, I can't see a "service" being given the same benefit - that is - to subsequent puchasers of a "service." As Adam astutely points out, CPA firms owe a duty to the investors of a corporation which retains them. True, the CPA does not know the exact identity of each and every investor (potential plaintiff), but the investors OWN the company which retained the CPA, thus, the investors/owners employed the CPA and thus are foreseeable plaintiffs.
For example, if I get burned on a transaction of a home appraised at X and it is in fact not worth X after I've paid for it, I doubt I can go after the appraiser (whom I did not retain).
Maybe if there's enough of this, we can make some new law (hopefully not for us collectors though).