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 of mind could be as simple as making a couple of two-day trips to Las Vegas or Orange County.

Well, it’s maybe not that simple. The solution isn’t a couple of weekends partying in ‘Vegas or two trips to the Magic Kingdom. Instead, DG Keeton Resources invites small business executives to lock themselves in for an intensive four-day SOX training conference to be held over a pair of two-day sessions during August and September.

Yahoo!: Small Public Companies Can Receive Valuable Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Guidance During Intensive Four-Day Conferences

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, have been closely following the impact of Sarbanes Oxley compliance on small public companies worth less than $75 million.

“Small public companies still face higher costs than large firms and deserve more time to comply with the recent changes to Sarbanes-Oxley. The regulations issued by the SEC last month are an important step, but I again strongly urge the SEC to give small public companies additional time to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley and to find additional ways to reduce their regulatory burden” said Kerry.

Yahoo: Kerry, Snowe Call on SEC to Give Small Firms More Time, Assistance to Comply With Sarbanes Oxley

New legislation recently introduced in the US Senate aims to ensure that Sarbanes-Oxley Act regulations due to take effect in June do not disproportionately impact the nation’s small businesses.

The Small Business Regulatory Review Act of 2007 would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to take into account the burdens of small businesses before issuing final Sarbanes-Oxley rules.

Provisions in the Small Business Regulatory Review Act of 2007 would require: the SEC to conduct a small business analysis before the SEC and PCAOB publish final rules on small business internal control compliance; the SEC to publish a small business compliance guide explaining the SEC’s final rules in non-technical language; and the Government Accountability Office to assess the impact of the SEC’s final rules on small public companies two years after they are published.

“The Small Business Regulatory Review Act of 2007 will help to ensure that small stock companies do not suffer from additional unintended consequences that harm their ability to compete, innovate, grow, and, most importantly, create jobs,” stated Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME), Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Ranking Member, who introduced the bill. “Our nation’s small stock companies are the cornerstone of our entrepreneurial economy, and it is essential that we carefully address the regulatory barriers that impede their growth.”

Investorsoffshore: Snowe Bill To Mitigate Sarbanes-Oxley Impact On US Small Firms

Richard Wasielewski, Nortech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSYS) vice president and chief financial officer, testified Wednesday before a U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship that Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) regulatory requirements have both helped Nortech improve its internal controls and financial reporting practices but also that the new requirements have added considerably to the company’s costs.

Wasielewski appeared before the committee at the invitation of U.S. Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), to address the significant time and money small public companies, such as Nortech Systems, invest in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

The hearing preceded the introduction of new legislation, The Small Business Regulatory Review Act of 2007 (S.1153), the following day by Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Ranking Member Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Senator Coleman. The new legislation would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to take into account the burdens faced by small businesses before issuing final Sarbanes-Oxley rules and ensure that SOX regulations due in June 2007 do not disproportionately impact the nation’s small publicly traded companies

Broadcast Newsroom: Nortech Systems’ CFO Testifies on Sarbanes-Oxley Reform

Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan today commended the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship for holding a hearing on the impact of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on smaller public companies.

In written testimony, Sullivan said, “The topic of how the Sarbanes-Oxley Act impacts small business is an important one, and the small business community will benefit by this Committee’s focus on the proposals under consideration by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).”

Sullivan noted that Advocacy’s involvement with the issue began in 2002 when the office asked then Chairman Oxley and Chairman Sarbanes to include flexibility in their bill sufficient to avoid unnecessary impacts on small public firms. Since then, Advocacy has issued several comment letters to the SEC and the PCAOB, held public roundtables, and given testimony before the U.S. Congress.

Yahoo!Finance: Advocacy Commends Senate Hearing on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Complete copy of the testimony