The U.S. Treasury Department will host a conference March 12-13 to discuss the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and possible reforms, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday.

Businesses complain that Sarbanes-Oxley, a package of accounting and governance changes enacted by Congress after a wave of corporate scandals in the late 1990s, has proved too costly and difficult to follow. Paulson, speaking to the Economic Club of Washington, said overall, the changes have had a positive effect on business.

“The vast majority of the change, in my judgment, has been good,” Paulson said.

A look at recent scandals involving big payouts to company executives via backdated stock options stemmed from activities predating Sarbanes-Oxley, Paulson said. Sarbanes-Oxley reporting requirements discouraged such behavior later on, he said.

[1] Morningstar: Treasury To Host Sarbanes-Oxley Conference March 12-13