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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 monitor their internal controls over financial reporting, as well as to test their controls. The aim is to ensure accurate financial statements and to catch fraud.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board have been under pressure from Congress and businesses to adjust Section 404, which is often criticized as expensive and time-consuming.

MarketWatch: SEC to finalize Sarbanes-Oxley tweaks

US stock market regulation has little impact on where small companies decide to list their shares, according to a report from three North American academics. The widespread perception that the US’s Sarbanes-Oxley legislation is one reason why so many international companies have chosen to list in the UK is out of touch, the report argues.

Andrew Karolyi and Rene Stulz of Ohio State University and Craig Doidge of the University of Toronto say that although the regulatory burden on smaller companies has increased thanks to Sarbanes-Oxley, there has been no marked increase in US companies seeking a foreign listing.

However, the fact that all 67 US companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London have floated since the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley indicates the opposite, and the proliferation of foreign companies seeking a UK listing highlights the attractions of London.

The Independent: Small Talk: AIM is working, despite the disasters

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, along with Reps. Tom Feeney (news, bio, voting record) (R-Fla.) and Pete Sessions (news, bio, voting record) (R-Texas) will be holding press conference on Tuesday, March 13 in room SC-6 of the Capitol at 10:00 AM in order to re-introduce a bill to make improvements to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The bill is designed to reduce some of the financial burdens that have been put on small to mid cap businesses as a part of attesting to the soundness of their internal control functions.

The bill is the COMPETE Act of 2007, which stands for Competitive and Open Markets that Protect and Enhance the Treatment of Entrepreneurs Act first introduced by both Meeks and Feeney in 2006.

Yahoo!: U.S. Reps. Meeks, Feeney and Sen. DeMint Aim to Make Improvements to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The head of the New York Stock Exchange has launched a blistering attack on the lack of regulation surrounding the London Stock Exchange’s junior Aim market.

John Thain, chief executive of the NYSE, criticised the junior market for its lack of corporate governance standards. Mr Thain, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he felt Aim “did not have any standards at all and anyone could list”.

Although he believed it was beginning to change its approach, he added that London “had to be careful not to damage its reputation by allowing in companies that are not well run”.

He also said that he felt that neither the LSE’s Official List nor Aim had such a strict approach to corporate governance as his own NYSE or Nasdaq, which is currently trying to buy the LSE. Many in London do not want an American takeover because they fear overly-stringent regulations, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, may be forced to apply to UK-quoted companies.

Telegraph.co.uk: NYSE chief attacks Aim