The SEC Goes Searching for Hard Numbers on SOX
Posted on June 18th, 2007 by Michael Evans »Permalink
It seems like déj vu with all of the renewed debate going on about whether SOX is going to put small companies out of business or drive them overseas. Ever since Congress passed SOX nearly five years ago critics have complained that its one-size-fits-all approach penalized small businesses. Our very own Harvey Pitt, has long argued that SOX required changes in order to make it work for small businesses.
The new guidance from the PCAOB, which – if you haven’t been following it – is officially known as “AS5” (not sure they have a very big marketing group across town at PCAOB HQ). AS5 is supposed to relieve the burden on small companies by directing auditors to scale down their audits. But skeptics, including some members of Congress, still want to see hard numbers on how the PCAOB’s new guidance is going to make a dent in auditor fees.
If the SEC is looking for some examples they would do well to give a call to the small company I mentioned in my previous post. They have some hard numbers to share. Better yet, take a look at the results being generated by other companies that have long since adopted automated continuous controls monitoring solutions.
Michael Evans is the Vice President of Marketing at Approva.
