Not often do I see two interesting corporate announcements about Sarbanes-Oxley compliance in the same morning, but it happened earlier today.
First, the Australian company Alloy Steel International told the word that it plans to de-register with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Why? Compliance costs. Specifically the company singled out the infamous Section 404(b) of SOX, which requires external auditors to review a company’s internal controls over financial reporting. Alloy Steel would be required to comply with Section 404(b) starting in its next fiscal year, and since the company has fewer than 300 shareholders and only about $9 million in annual revenue, it decided to bail out of U.S. public markets and trade on the Pink Sheets.
