Sarbanes-Oxley Act

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Sarbanes-Oxley Act

An discussion of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002.

714 words () | 3 sources | APA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), a federal law that was passed largely due to accounting scandals involving several large, publicly-held companies, two of which were Enron and WorldCom. The act is also referred to as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002. The paper maintains that one of the more important provisions of the act was the establishment of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), whose five board members are appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are responsible for overseeing the public accounting profession. SOX, and the subsequent PCAOB, have sought to dramatically reduce the impact of corrupt business practice, primarily through tougher regulation of accounting and auditing procedures and mandatory involvement by two of a corporation's top officers. The paper concludes that, while many would not consider it the ideal solution, ethical behavior must often be legislated.

Outline:
Auditors
Corporate Officers and Directors
Disclosure Requirements
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Potential loopholes aside, auditors are now held to a much higher standard legally. Vast restrictions are placed on the number and type of services an auditor may perform in addition to the act of auditing. This makes considerable sense, given that an auditor that provides accounting consultation services to a corporation would be far more inclined to act in a biased manner when auditing his own work. The restrictions are numerous, but the intent remains the same; to preclude any perceived or actual conflicts of interest where the auditor-client relationship is concerned."

Sample of Sources Used:

Bumgardner, L. (2003). Reforming Corporate America. Retrieved 3 June, 2007 from http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/031/sarbanesoxley.html
Byrne, J.A. (2002). Joe Berardino's Fall from Grace. Business Week, August 12, 2002.
Williams, J.R., Haka, S.F., Bettner, M.S., Carcello, J.V. (2006). Financial Accounting (12th ed). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.