SOX Center

Small public companies nationwide now face major Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance headaches. The root of their discomfort is the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) controversial yet unanimous decision on May 23 not to extend the SOX compliance deadline for companies with less than $75 million in market capital.
Fortunately for small business CEOs and CFOs, renewed peace […]

Study finds small firms hit especially hard
A new University of Georgia study finds that the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and related rule changes of the major stock exchanges have dramatically altered the makeup of corporate boards, making them larger and more independent. The legislation also had the unintended effect of increasing director pay by […]

Jack Ciesielski submits: CFO.com reports that Senators John Kerry (Massachusetts) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) have sent another letter to SEC Chairman Christopher Cox requesting further delay in the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s Section 404 for small companies.
It’s deja vu all over again: they sent a letter to him last February on the same subject.
Here’s […]

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act hasn’t helped in the long-running battle against corporate fraud, according to a recent survey of certified fraud examiners — a staggering 76 percent of whom reported that fraud is more prevalent today than five years ago.
The 2007 Report on Corporate Fraud, conducted for governance software vendor Oversight Systems Inc., noted that that […]

You almost have to get lost to find Ocean Bio-Chem, a Fort Lauderdale company that makes the Star Brite brand of cleaning products for boats. It’s hidden away in the back of an industrial park alongside Florida’s Turnpike. Walk into CEO Peter Dornau’s cramped ground-floor office, and Jake, his chocolate Labrador, follows you in.
You get […]

John Kerry and Olympia Snowe want another delay for small companies.
Senators John Kerry and Olympia Snowe have sent another letter to Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox asking him to give small companies more time to prepare for complying with the internal-control provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
The small-business committees in both the House and […]

The Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board has ruled that a whistleblower’s accusations were not protected under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower protection provision, CFO.com reports.
David Welch, former CFO of Virginia bank Cardinal Bancshares, in 2004 was the first person to win whistleblower protection under SOX. Welch said the bank fired him after he raised questions […]

Senators John Kerry (D- Mass.) and Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) outlined specific steps the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should take to provide more time and assistance to small public companies to comply with Sarbanes Oxley internal control regulations. Kerry and Snowe, as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, […]

Securities and Exchange Commission internal control reporting requirements because smaller banks are already required to report to their bank regulators.
Testifying before the House Small Business Committee, Diane Casey-Landry, ACB president and CEO, said: “Community banks are part of a highly regulated industry subject to alternative requirements, heightening the need for relief from the unnecessary and […]

CCH principal analyst and leading author on securities law, Jim Hamilton, JD, LLM, has released a white paper on the long-awaited Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issuances on internal controls over financial reporting under section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
CCH, a leading provider of securities law information, is […]