Preview

Sarbanes–Oxley Act

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
4594 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sarbanes–Oxley Act
01. [pic]Sarbanes–Oxley Act
Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D–MD) and Rep. Michael G. Oxley (R–OH-4), the co-sponsors of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act.
The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 (Pub.L. 107-204, 116 Stat. 745, enacted July 30, 2002), also known as the 'Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act' (in the Senate) and 'Corporate and Auditing Accountability and Responsibility Act' (in the House) and commonly called Sarbanes–Oxley, Sarbox or SOX, is a United States federal law enacted on July 30, 2002, which set new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company boards, management and public accounting firms. It is named after sponsors U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and U.S. Representative Michael G. Oxley (R-OH).
The act was approved by the House by a vote of 423 in favor, 3 opposed, and 8 abstaining and by the Senate with a vote of 99 in favor, 1 abstaining. President George W. Bush signed it into law, stating it included "the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices of Franklin D. Roosevelt."

Outliness

Sarbanes–Oxley contains 11 titles that describe specific mandates and requirements for financial reporting. Each title consists of several sections, summarized below. 1. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) 2. Auditor Independence 3. Corporate Responsibility 4. Enhanced Financial Disclosures 5. Analyst Conflicts of Interest 6. Commission Resources and Authority 7. Studies and Reports 8. Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability 9. White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement 10. Corporate Tax Returns 11. Corporate Fraud Accountability

Criticism

Congressman Ron Paul and others such as former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee have contended that SOX was an unnecessary and costly government intrusion into corporate management that places U.S. corporations at a competitive disadvantage with foreign firms, driving businesses out of the United States. In an April 14, 2005 speech

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) originated on July 29, 2002 due to fraudulent bookkeeping practices and misleading financial reports from large corporations. These practices created a number of accounting scandals, which resulted in this in the government creating such an act. The purpose was to prevent and punish corporate corruption and, along the way, try to repair investor confidence. The law was passed by congress after well-known companies (Enron, Peregrine Systems and Tyco International, to name a few) caused great humiliations to its investors, which in result cost them billions of dollars. The share prices of the affected companies collapsed, which shook public confidence in the nation’s securities markets.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Acc291Individual Paper

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) was created in response to the series of misleading and fraudulent activities of publicly traded big business’s in the 1990s. During this time, multiple large publicly-traded businesses increased their stock prices by “publishing false or deceptive financial statements” (Lasher, 2008, p. 187). The most publicly charged company was Enron, which was then followed by Xerox, WorldCom and Global Crossing. This resulted in millions of dollars of stock market value disappearing in what seemed to be overnight. It is in response to these events that Congress drafted and passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is mandatory. All large and small organizations must comply with this act. The legislation came into existence in 2002 as a result of a number of corporate and accounting scandals and introduced major changes to the regulation of financial practice and corporate governance. The main architects of the acts were Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley. The SOX act protects the shareholders from forged representations in corporate financial statements. The financial information on which the investors rely should be truthful and its accuracy must be verified by an independent third party.…

    • 187 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Sarbanes Oxley Act

    • 3132 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Financial reporting has been dissected over and over again by legislation. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hold the key to providing protection and integrity when companies are submitting their financial statements. Although their mission is to provide order and efficiency for financial markets, insidious plans are still developed by companies which ultimately result in turmoil to the economy. To provide a safeguard to investors, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed by congress in 2002, which was constructed because of fraudulent acts of well-known companies such as Enron. Before the SOX was inaugurated, two sets of accounting rules were used as guides for CPA firms.…

    • 3132 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Law 421 Week 1 Summary

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was put in to place as a way of preventing and deterring future accounting fraud, protecting shareholders, and increasing confidence in public company financial reporting. However, SOX has imposed tremendous new duties and costs on public companies and accounting firms. Some individuals may call it an object failure while SOX hoped to create more confidence in capital markets it does not prevent fraud or abuse from occurring.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 534 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, often abbreviated as SOX, is a legislative act passed by Congress in response to the Enron and WorldCom financial scandals. The primary purpose of SOX is to protect shareholders from errors or fraudulent reporting by the company they have invested in. The Sarbanes-Oxley act is enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a department dedicated to ensuring compliance to SOX from all firms, and is also responsible for revising provisions of the act in order to keep it current and up to date.…

    • 534 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley drafted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or "SOX" in 2002 in order to curb the incidence of corporate fraud. The “Act” was signed into law on July 30th 2002 by President George W. Bush with the express purpose of restoring public confidence in the financial markets; and after enacting “the Act”, neither Sarbanes or Oxley would run for re-election in the 2006 elections (Jahmani & Dowling, 2008). The intent of the SOX Act was to protect investors, and any other stakeholders in a company, by improving the validity and reliability of corporate disclosures, such as financial statements and earnings reports, pursuant to existing securities laws and regulations governing publically traded companies (Kessel, 2011). The SOX Act holds corporate Chief…

    • 1488 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is an act passed by U.S. Congress in 2002 to protect investors and the general public from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act authorized strict modifications to improve financial disclosures from corporations and to prevent accounting fraud. This law was passed after a couple of big the accounting scandals like Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom shook investor assurance in financial statements and required an overhaul of regulatory standards. The act is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which sets deadlines for compliance and publishes rules on requirements. It is not a set of business practices and does not specify how a business should store records; rather it tells more which records are to be stored and for how long in case of hearings.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sarbanes-Oxley

    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act applies to all public companies in the U.S. and international companies that have registered equity or debt securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as the accounting firms that provide auditing services to them. The Act mandated a number of reforms to enhance corporate responsibility, enhance financial disclosures, combat corporate and accounting fraud, and created the "Public Company Accounting Oversight Board," also known as the PCAOB, to oversee the activities of the auditing profession. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also created new penalties for acts that were unethical, negligent or fraudulent. It hoped to change how corporate boards and executives interacted with each other and with corporate auditors. Its aim is to remove the defense/excuse of "I wasn't aware of or didn't know about the financial issues regarding the company" from CEOs and CFOs. It aims to hold management accountable for the accuracy of the financial statements in order to protect the shareholders and others that rely on those financial statements. The Act also specifies new financial reporting responsibilities,…

    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is the most far-reaching change in organizational control and accounting regulations since the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The new law made securities fraud a criminal offense and made more strict penalties for corporate fraud. The law now requires top executives to sign off on their firms financial reports, and they risk fines and long jail sentences if they…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Congress responded by enacting the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“Sarbanes-Oxley”), which became effective on July 30, 2002. Sarbanes-Oxley makes many changes in the securities regulation process to improve corporate governance and reporting. It imposes harsh penalties on violators, creates an elaborate system for governing and regulating auditors for public companies, and requires the securities industry’s self-regulatory organizations to adopt rules to prevent conflicts of interest and enhance the independence of securities analysts. Even casual observers of the political reaction to the stunning disclosures about Enron, WorldCom and Tyco’s deceitful financial practices might have predicted some such legislative response (Jennings, 2010, p. 212).…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002(SOX which is also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act was enacted in July, 30, 2002 as a prompt response to the financial crimes scandals (Adelphia, Enron, WorldCom, Peregrime Systems , Arther Anderson and Tyco International). SOX establishes new, stricter standards for all US publicly traded companies. It does not apply to privately companies. The Act is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which deals with compliance, rules and requirements. The Act also created a new agency, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, which is in charge of overseeing, regulating, inspecting, and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies. In my opinion, the benefits of the act cant be able to overcome the frustration and the cost of it.…

    • 1327 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley act was enacted in 2002 following corporate financial scandals like those involving Enron and WorldCom. The act was created in order to combat corporate accounting fraud and enhance the quality of corporate financial disclosures. To accomplish this, the act created the "Public Company Accounting Oversight Board", or PCAOB to oversee audits and compliance.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sarbanes-Oxley Act

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is mandatory. To prevent the dishonest practices all organizations are required to comply with The Sarbannes-Oxley Act of 2002. The act is named after Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley. In 2002 the legislation changed the “Financial practice and corporate governance.” ("The Sarbanes-Oxley Act", 2006). For investors to be protected from fraud related to publically traded companies the act…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sarbanes Oxley Act

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that mandated a number of reforms to increase corporate responsibility, enhance financial disclosures and prevent corporate and accounting fraud (Shakespeare, 2008). The laws are a set of rules that guides the conduct in society. Legal rules and ethical decisions are similar but differ on certain points. Sarbanes Oxley was created with new standards for corporate accountability as well as new penalties for acts of wrongdoing.…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays