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Retired Congressman Michael Oxley blames the PCAOB for starting “all the problems” with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Michael Oxley has been guaranteed immortality — and perhaps a degree of infamy — since his name was affixed to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the most comprehensive set of corporate rule changes since the 1930s.

Earlier this year, Oxley retired from Congress after serving 25 years. However, the 63-year-old Republican from Ohio is not ready to fade from the scene. In the last month, he has picked up two new jobs, as counsel for the Cleveland-based law firm Baker Hostetler and non-executive vice chairman of Nasdaq.

The act that bears his name missed unanimous passage through Congress by a mere three votes in the House, and initially received grudging lip service from a shaken corporate America. But a little noticed section, just 168 words long, soon changed the debate from whether Sarbox was essential to restoring confidence in the U.S. capital market to whether it was destroying it. Section 404, which required companies and their auditors to examine and report on the processes behind their financial reporting, quickly became the most expensive and hated provision of the act.

CFO.com:Oxley: I’m Not Happy with Sarbox

Paul Sarbanes and Michael Oxley, renowned authors of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance reform legislation, have become America’s favorite whipping boys for the emigration of foreign equity listings from New York to London. But it was the earlier efforts of another congressman, one who now has far more influence over the competitiveness of the US capital markets, which in fact sparked the exodus by deliberately mixing domestic market regulation with foreign policy.

In 1999, two commissions reported to Congress on Chinese military links to commercial and financial activities in the US. The reports grabbed headlines with their focus on the purported role of the US capital markets in financing Chinese weapons development and proliferation. The first of these commissions was chaired by congressman Christopher Cox, now chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Financial Times: Cox, not Sarbox, is to blame for equity exodus

After causing grief and lost millions for many high-tech companies, Michael Oxley is now their new friend in high places.

The veteran politician and co-author of the controversial Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform law yesterday joined Nasdaq in a newly created job as vice chairman.

The 63-year-old former GOP congressman will become a lobbyist and policy advisor serving CEOs of companies listed on the exchange, which is heavily weighted with tech firms.

Critics of the Sarbanes-Oxley law have blasted its onerous accounting red tape as having blocked many high-tech firms from going public in U.S., instead spurring many to issue shares in London where startups are cheaper and easier.

nypost.com: OXLEY’S NEW NASDAQ LOBBYIST

When the new Congress begins its session this week, two familiar faces will not be present: Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley, who are both retiring. Their main legacy will be the joint attack on corporate corruption that bears their names — the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The act, which was passed hastily in the wake of the Enron scandal, was surely well intentioned. But it has proven counterproductive in the extreme, and Congress would best honor the departing lawmakers by repealing it. Sarbanes-Oxley has seriously harmed American corporations and financial markets without increasing investor confidence.

The section of the law requiring companies to perform internal audits has turned out to be far more costly than proponents projected, especially for smaller firms. These costs have led some small companies to go private — hardly a victory for public oversight — and some foreign firms to withdraw their stocks from American exchanges.

In addition, the average “listing premium” — the benefit that companies receive by listing their stocks on American exchanges — has declined by 19 percentage points since 2002. This explains why the percentage of worldwide initial public offerings on our exchanges dropped to 5 percent last year, from 50 percent in 2000.

iht: Enron’s last victim: American markets

The co-author of the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance law said he expects some changes in the way the law is enforced as early as next year.

Speaking at the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Conference, Ohio Republican Rep. Michael Oxley, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he sees bipartisan support for changes in the regulation at the Securities and Exchange Commission, rather than new legislation from Congress.

Here you will find the story:

Morningstar: Oxley Sees Changes In Sarbanes-Oxley In Near Future