The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Summary

The Sarbanes-Oxley is a U.S. federal law that has generated much controversy, and involved the response to the financial scandals of some large corporations such as Enron, Tyco International, WorldCom and Peregrine Systems. These scandals brought down the public confidence in auditing and accounting firms. The law is named after Senator Paul Sarbanes Democratic Party and GOP Congressman Michael G. Oxley. It was passed by large majorities in both Congress and the Senate and covers and sets new performance standards for boards of directors and managers of companies and accounting mechanisms of all publicly traded companies in America. It also introduces criminal liability for the board of directors and a requirement by

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also known as SOX Act, is a federal law that was passed on July 30, 2002, by Congress. This law was established to help set new or enhance laws for all United States accounting firms, management, and public company. The SOX Act would now make corporate executives accountable for their unethical behavior. This bill was passed due to the action of the Enron and Worldcom scandal, which cost their investors billions of dollars, caused their company to fold, and questioned the nations' securities markets.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a preventative measure passed by congress which protects investors from corporate fraud. Company loans were banned to executives and provided job protection to whistleblowers. Financial-literacy of corporate boards and independence are strengthen by the act. Errors in accounting audits are now the responsibly of the CEO’s. Sponsors to the act were Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Congressman Michael Oxley (R-OH) who the Act is named after.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, is an act passed by U.S. Congress on July 30, 2002. The primary reason was to protect investors from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporations. The act is commonly known as SOX Act. The act is named after its cosponsors, U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes and U.S. Representative Michael G. Oxley. It mandates strict reforms to improve financial disclosures from corporations and prevent accounting fraud. The Sarbanes Oxley Act is arranged into eleven titles. They are Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Auditor Independence, Corporate Responsibility, Enhanced Financial Disclosures, Analyst Conflicts of Interest, Commission Resources and Authority, White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement, Corporate Tax Returns, and Corporate Fraud Accountability. These titles provide the description of specific requirements and mandates for the financial reporting. The SOX Act monitors compliance through various sections. However, the most significant sections are 302 (Disclosure controls), 401 (Disclosures in periodic reports), 404 (Assessment of internal control), 802 (Criminal penalties for influencing US Agency investigation/proper administration). As a result of SOX Act, the top management must individually certify the accuracy of financial information. The Act increased the oversight role of board of directors and the independence of the outside

All businesses must account for their cash, as well as protect and manage any cash transactions. Safeguarding cash and assets correctly can lead to having a successful and long lasting business. Local merchants must account for their cash by doing daily bank runs and also using a control structure to ensure their assets are safe. Having an accounting system that follows control procedures and proper implementation of policies allows a company to account for cash. The two methods that can be used to account for cash include, cash accounting or accrual accounting. This is the process of recording receipts and expenses, but the difference between the two methods is simply the time in which expenses and receipts are recorded during each operating cycle.

Drawbaugh and Aubin (2012) took the opportunity with the ten year anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to analyze whether the act has been effective. Passed in 2002 amid a wave of accounting scandals, Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) was intended to strengthen the accounting, auditing and reporting of public companies and boost investor confidence in the US financial system.

The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002 was signed into federal law on July 30, 2002. The stated purpose of the law is "to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the security laws, and for other purposes." The law has influenced long term changes in the way publicly traded companies manage auditors, financial reporting, executive responsibility and internal controls. SOX is considered the most substantial piece of corporate regulation since the securities laws of the 1930's (Stults, 2004).

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act. An act passed by U.S. Congress in 2002 to protect investors and the general public from the possibility of accounting errors and fraudulent practices by corporations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), named after U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes and U.S. Representative Michael G. Oxley, which contains eleven sections, mandated strict reforms to improve financial disclosures and prevent accounting fraud. The eleven sections of the bill cover responsibilities of a public corporation’s board of directors, adds criminal penalties for certain misconduct, and also requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to create regulations to define how public corporations are to comply with the law. SOX other main purpose is also

Signed by President George W. Bush, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act became an official law in 2002. Like most laws, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act looked good on paper, but whether it is successful is determined by how it is implemented. To start, the purpose of the act is to prevent the possibility accounting scandals from happening again, so a big part of the act aims to implement stricter corporate governance, business compliance, and financial visibility to the public. Sections detailed with policies guide how firms need to oblige with the act. Those that support the act and favors strict implementations believe that it will “improved disclosure, transparency, and corporate governance, thereby reducing misconduct, perquisite consumption, and mismanagement

The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, better known as SOX, was passed in response to the scandals that had plagued many companies, from WorldCom to Enron, in the US. SOX was intended to restore investor confidence, decrease fraud and mismanagement while enhancing transparency and corporate governance (Ernst & Young). With the passing of SOX, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was established to oversee the auditing firms that allowed, whether knowingly or not, these companies to commit fraud and fraud the American people out of their life savings (Harris). With all laws, there will always be some successes and failures. With that you will also have some who feel the law needs to be repealed or be reevaluated to decrease the

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.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, also known as SOX, was enacted in response to several corporate and accounting scandals with the goal of restoring investor confidence in the financial statements of public companies. It is a U.S. federal law covering such issues as auditor independence, corporate governance, evaluation of internal controls and greater financial disclosure. SOX also set new or expanded requirements for the board of all public companies, management or public accounting firms in the U.S. It outlines the obligations of the board of directors for public companies, adds criminal penalties for certain transgressions and required the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish regulations to specify how corporations will conform

In July 2002, the United State Congress passed a legislation known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (often shortened to SOX). The act was drafted by United States congressmen Paul Sarbanes and Michael Oxley and was aimed at improving corporate governance and accountability. This legislation was passed to protect the general public and shareholders from fraudulent practices and accounting errors in the enterprise, in addition to improving the accuracy of corporate disclosures. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) administers the act, which sets publishers rules on requirements and deadlines for compliance (Rouse, n.d.).

The control accounts can help identify ledgers in which errors have been made when there is a difference in a trial balance. It assists in the location of errors where posting to the control accounts are made daily or weekly or even monthly. However if a clerk fails to record an invoice or a payment in a personal account or makes a transaction error, it would be a difficult task to locate the error at the end of a year given the fact that many transactions have been made during the year. By using the control account, a contrast with the individual balances in the sales or purchase ledger can be completed in a week or a day of the month and the error can be detected much more quickly.

The issue of security is the most important concern in banking sector. As banks deal with people’s money, it is vital to carry out every work with great caution and attention as the chances of fraud is highly probable in banking transactions. Especially in the cheque section where the respective CSO (Customer Service Officer) has to carry out fund transfer through cheques has to input all the details in the system very carefully, because in case a wrong account number or amount is written the money will go to someone else’s account. I have always seen the CSO responsible for cheque operations to call both the payer and the payee to ensure the payment and receipt of money. Account activation in case of any account becoming dormant is also handled very carefully as previously there were instances where people activated the account by forging the sign and using excuses such as true account holder is sick and therefore could not physically visit the branch.