Description:
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act created new standards for corporate accountability as well as new penalties for acts of wrongdoing. It changes how corporate boards and executives must interact with each other and with corporate auditors. It removes the defense of "I wasn't aware of financial issues" from CEOs and CFOs, holding them accountable for the accuracy of financial statements. The Act specifies new financial reporting responsibilities, including adherance to new internal controls and procedures designed to ensure the validity of their financial records.
The Act requires all financial reports to include an internal control report. This is designed to show that not only are the company's financial data accurate, but the company has confidence in them because adequate controls are in place to safeguard financial data. Year-end financial reports must contain an assessment of the effectiveness of the internal controls. The issuer's auditing firm is required to attest to that assessment. The auditing firm does this after reviewing controls, policies, and procedures during a Section 4040 audit, conducted along with a traditional financial audit. (definition from sox-online.com)
Copyright 2004-2008 The Data Governance Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved The site is brought to you in partnership with the Business Intelligence Network
Copyright 2004-2008 The Data Governance Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved The site is brought to you in partnership with the Business Intelligence Network
