The article below was sent from a dear friend of mine and fellow SOX enthusiast, Clark Keeler, Director, BPM. I find the article to have a significant amount of irony considering it claims that "American business people of a conservative nature have been dreaming about driving a stake through the heart of the Sarbanes-Oxley act ever since the legislation was passed..." It would seem to me that if a person was truly fiscally conservative, they would consider Sarbanes-Oxley to be the prudent choice rather than the radical one. Internal controls require there to be a check point in a business procedure that requires someone other than the preparer of the documentation to verify the accuracy of what was prepared. This verification prevents someone from acting alone when making decisions about shareholder assets (physical assets, capital, intangible assets, etc). I am of the opinion that this double check adds a necessary layer of review considering the potential for fraud, errors, omissions, etc. Considering all that we at Vibato, LLC have found when testing internal controls, this is no longer just opinion but rather, fact. Read more on the article here:
Tags: Sarbanes-Oxley Articles & Information, Compliance tools, Announcements, 404, 404 audit, audit costs, Non-accelerated filer 404(b) information, SOX Compliance Made Simple, Wall Street Reform, Sarbanes-Oxley Training, Sarbanes-Oxley, external auditing, Sarbanes-Oxley for Non-Profits
COMPLIANCE ALERT: Wall Street Reform Act Signed into Law 07/21/2010
404(b) will no longer be required for non-accelerated filers per the Wall Street Reform Act that was signed into law on, July 21, 2010.
Tags: Sarbanes-Oxley Articles & Information, 404 audit, Non-accelerated filer 404(b) information, Sarbanes-Oxley
PCAOB may have something to say about 404(b)-like audits after all
In the wake of a potential Sarbanes-Oxley 404(b) exemption via the Wall Street Reform Act, the PCAOB seems to be doing what it can to require a deeper audit than previously accepted. This is inline with what we at Vibato have also been seeing on the external audit side. Most external auditors we encounter are claiming if the 404(b) reprieve goes through, or, if non-accelerated filers (those companies with a $75M or less market cap) are not required to comply with 404(b) (the section of Sarbanes-Oxley that requires external auditors to review management's internal controls), then they are planning to audit any 404(a) claim as though it were a 404(b) claim. 404(a) is where all public companies are required to attest to the effectiveness of their internal control infrastructure via their 10K, 10Q, and 302 / 906 certifications. Here is the article from CFO.com about the PCAOB activities:
Tags: audit costs, Non-accelerated filer 404(b) information, Sarbanes-Oxley
Compliance Alert: CPA Society Supports SOX for Small Companies
The Ohio Society of CPAs commented on the "Last-minute attempt made to remove small public company exemption from financial reform" in 404(b) in the article below on 25 June 2010. They discussed the fact that investors in small companies deserve safeguards against possible fraud. After all, if there are no safeguards to prevent fraud for small public companies, that will ultimately lead to a lack of investment in these companies as investors will not feel secure in doing so. Click here to read the full statement.
Tags: Sarbanes-Oxley Articles & Information, Compliance tools, Announcements, 404, 404 audit, audit costs, Non-accelerated filer 404(b) information, SOX Basic®, SOX Compliance Made Simple, Wall Street Reform, Sarbanes-Oxley, external auditing, Sarbanes-Oxley for Non-Profits
While reading The Harvard Law School Forum I came across a post that discusses the "Sarbanes-Oxley 'Clawback' Developments" by John F. Savarese. It is very interesting, and if you would like to read it, click here.
Tags: Sarbanes-Oxley Articles & Information, Announcements, 404, deadline, 404 audit, audit costs, Non-accelerated filer 404(b) information, SOX Basic®, SOX Compliance Made Simple, risk management, Sarbanes-Oxley, external auditing, insurance audit
