Internal Controls

THE BASICS Compliance Dates “A company that is a non-accelerated filer, or foreign private issuer that files its annual reports on Form 20-F or Form 40-F, must begin to comply with these requirements for its first fiscal year ending on or after July 15, 2006.” Contacts Sean Harrison, SEC Division of Corporation Finance, (202) 942-2910 […]

Compliance Week has created the form below, which searches Item II 9A on Form 10-K and Item I 4 on Form 10-Q, entitled “Controls and Procedures.”

As we reported in early February, the SEC has announced that it would host a roundtable on Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and would solicit feedback on implementation challenges. Details have finally been released. According to a Commission announcement last week, the 404 roundtable will be held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 13, […]

In what may be the first analysis of costs incurred by companies while complying with Section 404 of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Netherlands-based consulting firm of A.R.C. Morgan has found that companies are spending “significantly more than widely anticipated.” Unlike prior surveys or questionnaires regarding SOX 404 costs, which had been conducted by […]

This “case study” is the latest in a series of articles aimed at helping public companies understand how other organizations are using technology to comply with new regulations and standards. These are not advertisements or marketing vehicles for the companies mentioned; Compliance Week’s editorial staff speaks with the public company that has deployed the technology, […]

Companies that previously certified “disclosure controls and procedures” under Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley may find themselves this year in the uncomfortable position of having internal control audits under Section 404 reveal material weaknesses–with regulators wondering why those flaws weren’t reported earlier. The SEC’s final rule implementing Section 302 of SOX requires company management to present […]

In an effort to buy more time under Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, Chordiant Software, Inc. recently announced that its board had voted to change the end of its fiscal year from Dec. 31 to Sept. 30, beginning with FY 2004. The move means that Chordiant will not have to comply with the Securities and Exchange […]

In the wake of a recent wave of restatements to correct lease-related accounting errors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s chief accountant has issued a letter to a professional accounting group reiterating the rules. SEC’s Donald Nicolaisen focused the letter on three issues related to lease accounting: depreciation of the costs to improve leased property, […]

This profile is the latest in a series of weekly conversations with executives at U.S. public companies who are currently involved in establishing and developing compliance programs. An index of previous conversations is available here. You’re both CFO and overseer of Brightpoint’s compliance. How do you manage such a full plate? Well, I don’t see […]

Now that calendar year accelerated filers are putting the finishing touches on their internal control reports required by Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404, many are wondering how many companies will disclose one or more material weaknesses, and what the marketplace reaction will be. Trying to forecast the number and impact is like forecasting earthquakes in California; […]