Jame Clark Talks On The Subject Of Looking For Sarbanes Oxley
Audit committees now need to pre-approve many audit and non-audit services, although in several instances they may do so by putting in place policies and procedures to be followed instead of actually reviewing each decision. Auditors must communicate to the audit committee every one “crucial accounting policies” plus any discussions of “material accounting alternatives” which can have an effect on how results are reported. Auditors are urging their clients to begin the controls-effectiveness assessment as early as possible. The task can be arduous plus time-consuming, requiring management to determine which locations or business units it should include in its evaluation. Auditors plus business analysts evaluate those processes to identify controls that ensure information accuracy and validity. The tools used to document the processes plus controls range from spreadsheet plus word processing software to sophisticated workflow and document management software.
The Enron scandal deeply influenced the event of recent rules to enhance the reliability of financial reporting, plus increased public awareness regarding the importance of having accounting standards that show the monetary reality of firms and the objectivity and independence of auditing firms. Consequence of the events was the passage of Sarbanes Oxley Act in 2002, as a result of the first admissions of fraudulent behavior reported by Enron. The act significantly raises criminal penalties for securities fraud, for destroying, altering or fabricating records in federal investigations or any plan or attempt to defraud shareholders. The act expanded criminal penalties for destroying, altering, or fabricating records in federal investigations or for any try to defraud shareholders.
A variety of complicated factors created the conditions and culture in that a series of large company frauds occurred between 2000-2002. The spectacular, highly-publicized frauds at Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco exposed significant issues with conflicts of interest plus incentive compensation practices. The analysis of their complex plus contentious root causes contributed to the passage of SOX in 2002. In a 2004 interview, Senator Paul Sarbanes stated:
“ The Senate Banking Committee undertook a series of hearings on the issues in the markets which had led to a loss of hundreds and hundreds of billions, indeed trillions of dollars in market value. The hearings set out to lay the foundation for legislation. We scheduled ten hearings over a six-week period, throughout which we tend to brought in some of the best individuals during the country to testify…The hearings made exceptional consensus on the nature of the problems: inadequate oversight of accountants, lack of auditor independence, weak corporate governance procedures, stock analysts’ conflict of interests, inadequate disclosure provisions, plus grossly inadequate funding of the Securities and Exchange Commission.”


