Internal Controls

Much has been written about the proposals from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404. If you’ve been dealing with 404 implementation, you’re probably already familiar with what the proposals say, so I won‘t bore you with another recitation. I do, however, have some observations that […]

With revised Sarbanes-Oxley compliance guidelines due out by June and small businesses poised to enter the SOX fold at the end of this year, smaller public companies are resigning themselves to taking on the new regulatory hurdles. At a hearing April 20 held by the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, business leaders pleaded […]

Canada, America’s largest trading partner, is finally trying to answer the question of how much it wants to embrace U.S.-style corporate governance. Securities regulators in that country are seeking comment on two proposals: a proposal on the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting and a proposal to increase disclosure of executive compensation. Both were […]

At the request of subscribers, Compliance Week offers a Remediation Center, in which readers can submit questions—anonymously—to securities and accounting experts. Compliance Week’s editors will review all questions and then submit them—confidentially, of course—to specialists who can address the issues. The questions and responses will then be reprinted in a future edition of Compliance Week. […]

The push to give investors a say on executive compensation has lurched forward again in Washington, D.C., with a bill introduced in the Senate to allow say-on-pay advisory votes, already endorsed by the House last month. Obama Senate Bill 1181, which would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to give shareholders an advisory vote […]

If the phrase “unclaimed property” recalls that overcoat you left at last year’s Christmas party, think again. Sure, states collect “UCP” such as abandoned bank accounts or family jewelry and publish lists of the goods to help find the rightful owners. But businesses also accumulate unclaimed property, from outstanding checks to balances in accounts payable […]

Securities and Exchange Commission Christopher Cox says his agency is working “pedal to the metal” on final guidance to help companies comply with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, which should be ready before Memorial Day. Cox Testifying last week before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Cox also promised that non-accelerated filers—the vast majority […]

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 […]

Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and many others quite rightly recommend that when you start any kind of new project, you should begin with the end in mind. What does that involve? Deciding where you want to be in the future (that is, what your “end state” will be); […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission will host an open meeting this week to review its plans to amend Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s tandem plans to revise Auditing Standard No. 2—both of which should, in theory, smooth the road for companies struggling to assess their […]