Great article from the Wall Street Journal.  Private Equity funds may need to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley at some point in the near future.  Here is a snippet of the article:

I had a great question asked of me today about staying current with SOX/SAS news.  With such a broad topic, it is often difficult to put a dent into all the available information.  

Use a month-end or quarter-end (at least) close checklist.  It is shocking how many people believe they'll remember everything they do each month but the truth is, we're human, we become sick, we get tired, and inevitably, we forget.  If someone reading this blog post isn't using a close checklist, take 3 minutes and start writing down everything you can remember that you do each month.  You will probably shock yourself at how long the list will get very quickly.  To this end, save yourself heartache, headache and embarrassment and create a list and check it each month as you get through your close.  Writing things down in this manner will also allow you to delegate better which could in the end help your stress level!

Review a list of GL users at least quarterly to ensure you approve of everyone with access.  It is easy to forget consultants or auditors who are granted "temporary" access because they often do not have to go through the formal HR channels to get access.  It is also easy to forget to remove terminated employees.  Reviewing users quarterly will help protect the security of your data!

Great article from James Hamilton that we thought our readers would enjoy.  Here is a snippet: