"The investigation has put the entire industry under unprecedented scrutiny and far reaching change, which is inevitable," said Mr. Ryan. "We think this change is good. We cannot predict how the investigation will play out, but we do know that the industry will be vastly different."

He commented that while no one likes going through an investigation, "I want you to know that I firmly support any effort to drive illegal or unethical practices out of the industry. That is how we have always operated and that has been the basis of our management approach to our business."

Mr. Ryan underscored these statements in an open address to the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune, pointing out ways Aon plans to tackle the issues raised in the investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and others. He said the letter underscored the firm's desire to bring complete transparency to how it is paid.

He refused to discuss details of the ongoing investigation, but he added that Aon has been fully cooperative in the investigations and its attorneys are performing extensive reviews of the firm's internal processes.

"We haven't yet found evidence of the sorts of serious violations that have been alleged against one of our competitors," he said. "But if our review determines that there has been any improper conduct at Aon, we won't hesitate to take appropriate action."

Since Aon's announcement that it is terminating contingent commissions, it is working to form "new business models" for compensation. What form those would take he did not say, but seemed to indicate Aon would look for an increase in direct fees from clients and increased commissions.

In its financial release, for the first nine months of this year Aon reported $117 million in contingent commissions, less than 2 percent of its overall revenue. Other compensation for services that could involve contingent commissions amounted to slightly more than 1 percent, or $91 million.

When compared to the amount of contingent commissions other brokers have reported, which has amounted to 5 percent or more of their revenue, Mr. Ryan said, "We look pretty damn good. The amount we received makes us look either stupid because we did not get more, or we were pretty honest about it."

For the third quarter of 2004, Aon reported revenues were up 1 percent, or $34 million, from $2.37 billion to $2.4 billion. Net income rose 7 percent, or $7 million, from $115 million to $122 million. Net income per share remained flat at 36 cents.

For the nine months, revenues rose 5 percent, or $368 million, going from $7.14 billion to $7.5 billion. Net income increased 13 percent, or $52 million, going from $413 million, or $1.30 a share, to $465 million, or $1.40 a share.

Mr. Ryan said the firm is not happy with its brokerage performance and that its production is "not where we want it to be." He said senior management would be working with producers to improve market share. The soft market has had an impact, he noted, but that was not an excuse for improving production.

"We are disappointed with the lack of revenue growth in our brokerage business," he said. "We must move aggressively to execute on our growth strategy in the midst of today's unprecedented opportunity to bring in new accounts and new business."