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U.S. regulators will unveil “significant changes” to the implementation of the corporate internal-controls reviews mandated by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said Thursday.

The U.S. law requires public companies to make an annual assessment of their internal controls over financial reporting, which must be reviewed by the firm’s outside auditor.

Larger companies already are subject to the requirement and many have complained about its cost. Smaller companies have remained shielded from it, but the SEC is working with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the U.S. audit regulator, on an approach that can be tailored to smaller firms with fewer resources.

In coming weeks, the U.S. “will unveil significant changes” aimed at ensuring internal control audits are “top down, risk based and focused on what truly matters” in ensuring accurate corporate financial reporting, Cox told the International Organization of Securities Commissioners in London on Thursday. A copy of Cox’s remarks were released in Washington by the SEC.

Cox said the goal of the changes is to reduce the cost of compliance with the U.S. law while increasing the benefits provided by the annual reviews. He didn’t offer specifics on the changes, expected to come in revisions to the PCAOB’s existing audit standard and new SEC guidance for corporate managers.

Morningstar: SEC’s Cox Assures Changes In Implementing Sarbanes-Oxley