SOX Center

The PCAOB has killed its reviled internal-control standard. Now it’s up to the SEC to pronounce it officially dead.
Perhaps the most hated rule to come out of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is dead. Well, almost. On Thursday, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board voted unanimously to replace its controversial internal-control auditing standard with Auditing Standard No. […]

Since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was adopted in 2002, non-U.S. issuers have become increasingly disenchanted with the regulatory burden of being listed on a U.S. stock exchange or otherwise having SEC reporting obligations. The most significant reason for non-U.S. issuers wanting to terminate their U.S. obligations is to avoid the internal control requirements under section 404 […]

The timing of the scandal helped build support for tougher rules in the 2002 bill on securities laws.
His name is not on the law, but maybe it should be. Perhaps more than either Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes or Rep. Michael G. Oxley, Bernard J. Ebbers is responsible for the far-reaching change in U.S. securities laws […]

The US Treasury has welcomed a statement released by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding their votes to address the implementation of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act:
“The SEC and the PCAOB, after carefully considering the effects of Section 404, moved this week to strike the right balance […]

U.S. accounting overseers voted Thursday to streamline rules for auditors’ assessments of corporate financial statements, in a move that supporters say will save time and simplify burdens imposed by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
By unanimous vote, the five members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board approved a new standard directing accounting companies to focus their […]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved new guidance on Wednesday to help companies comply with what critics say is a burdensome and costly provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform law.
The agency, by a 5-0 vote, encouraged companies to take a more risk-based approach to complying with Section 404 of the legislation.
“Congress never intended that […]

U.S. securities regulators will vote on tweaks to the controversial Sarbanes-Oxley law on Wednesday, finalizing changes initially approved in April amid continuing complaints from businesses about the law’s unpopular accounting provision.
At issue is Section 404 of the law, which was passed in 2002 following scandals at Enron and other companies. The section requires companies to […]

Five years after being the first to file for whistle-blower protection under Sarbanes-Oxley, former CFO David Welch has lost the family farm and his savings, and still doesn’t have a job.
When David Welch became the first person to win protection under the whistle-blower provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act back in 2002, the former CFO of […]

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on May 24, 2007, will vote on a final standard on auditing internal control over financial reporting, as well as a related independence rule and conforming amendments to the Board’s auditing standards. If adopted, the new standard would supersede the Board’s existing auditing standard, Auditing Standard No. 2, “An […]

Teamwork counts, especially when it comes to committing crimes at a corporation.
In a new examination of 374 companies accused of securities fraud between 1997 and 2002, an average of seven people were implicated in each case, including CEOs, chief financial officers, chief operating officers, general counsels, board directors and auditors.
“Far from being a solitary act, […]