A new academic study claims to have arrived at a numeric computation of the cost and benefit of exempting smaller companies from Sarbanes-Oxley internal control auditing — and it suggests investors are not necessarily better off for the exemption.

A new academic study claims to have arrived at a numeric computation of the cost and benefit of exempting smaller companies from Sarbanes-Oxley internal control auditing — and it suggests investors are not necessarily better off for the exemption.