The Securities and Exchange Commission is stepping up pressure to alleviate the exacting audit standard companies currently endure under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, vowing to work closely with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board as the two agencies try to release final SOX compliance reforms by June.
The SEC and PCAOB have struggled for nearly a year to ease the compliance burdens of Section 404 of SOX, which requires a detailed assessment of a company’s internal controls over financial reporting. At a special open meeting last week, the SEC directed its staff to work the PCAOB as the latter writes up a new standard for auditors to follow when they audit a company’s internal controls.
