The Sarbanes Oxley Act

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (officially titled the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002), signed into law on 30 July 2002 by President Bush, is considered the most significant change to federal securities laws in the United States since the New Deal. It came in the wake of a series of corporate financial scandals, including those affecting Enron, Arthur Andersen, and WorldCom. The law is named after Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael G. Oxley. It was approved by the House by a vote of 423-3 and by the Senate 99-0. This book illustrates the many Open Source cost-saving opportunities that public companies can explore in their IT enterprise to meet mandatory compliance requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley act. This book will also demonstrate by example and technical reference both the infrastructure components for Open Source that can be made compliant, and the Open Source tools that can aid in the journey of compliance. Although many books and reference material have been authored on the financial and business side of Sox compliance, very little material is available that directly address the information technology considerations, even less so on how Open Source fits into that discussion. The format of the book will begin each chapter with the IT business and executive considerations of Open Source and SOX compliance. The remaining chapter verbiage will include specific examinations of Open Source applications and tools which relate to the given subject matter. * Only book that shows companies how to use Open Source tools to achieve SOX compliance, which dramatically lowers the cost of using proprietary, commercial applications. * Only SOX compliance book specifically detailing steps to achieve SOX compliance for IT Professionals.

This book provides a comprehensive approach to Corporate Governance, Audit Process and Risk Management. Furthermore, it provides an analytical and comprehensive approach of the issues facing governance directors, internal and external auditors, risk managers, and public officials conducting assessments based upon the Report on Standards and Codes.

This Introduction Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Body of Knowledge (SOXBoK) is the world's most comprehensive, authoritative compendium on Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Produced by SOX Institute, the leading provider of Sarbanes-Oxley research, education, certification, advisory and membership services for GRC (Governance, Risk Management and Compliance) professionals, the SOXBoK has been created by practitioners for practitioners. It covers all titles and sections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and provides actionable advice for implementation using GASP (Generally Accepted SOX Principles). It is a must-have for anyone implementing SOX and similar regulations. It addresses the Finance, Accounting, Audit, IT, Ethics, Legal, Risk and other disciplines impacted by SOX. Includes the Act.

Need help ensuring your campany complys with Sarbanes-Oxley? Armed with this hands-on guide, you can detect early signs of fraud and operational loss, and safeguard your job, your employees' jobs, and the long-term success of your company. Don't let fraud derail your career. Protect yourself with the fail-safe Control Smart method found in Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Order your copy today!

The Sarbannes-Oxley Act (SOX) is a mandatory requirement for all listed corporations in the US, whether foreign or not. Compliance is not an option. Other countries are developing similar legislation so the books value is international in scope. SOX is a hot topic and the effects are just beginning to be felt world-wide. This new book goes beyond the implementation phase of SOX and looks at the reaction to the Act in terms of costs, benefits and business impacts. This book is for Senior Managers in the Business and Financial/Accounting Communities who want/need to know what the reaction of business and government is to the SOX legislation, what it is costing and how the effects are penetrating through the business environment. Mike Holt presents a comprehensive review of the impact that Sarbanes-Oxley legislation has had on business, the financial community, governments and the public since its inception in 2002. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been somewhat successful, but not completely and the cost (well over a trillion dollars) might be considered too high a price to pay for the gains. This book takes a hard look at the costs, benefits and other impacts as well as at what influential and prominent financial, government and business leaders think about it now. * International in scope and content and including interviews with prominent business leaders, CEOs and CFOs of large and small corporations. * Compliance with The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is now mandatory for every listed US corporation and overseas corporations listed on US stock markets. * Covers the reaction of business and government to this legislation, what it is costing and how the effects are penetrating through the business environment.

The collapse of Enron, WorldCom, and other large corporations in 2001 and 2002 motivated Congress to pass the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). The purpose of this legislation was to restore investor confidence in the United States stock markets, and to prevent and detect fraud in financial statements as well. This dissertation examines the effectiveness of SOX for the latter purpose of preventing and detecting fraud, using statistical enforcement data presented by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and financial statement restatement numbers published by the Huron Corporation. The two methodologies utilized to analyze the data were the unpaired t test and the chi square test. Surveys were also emailed to executives and certified public accountants across the country to extract opinions as to the effectiveness of SOX. The statistical analysis results displayed that in 61% to 65% of the data sets, the numbers prior to the enactment of SOX were no different than the numbers subsequent to the enactment of SOX. The majority of the survey respondents feel that the benefits of SOX are not worth the costs, it is not effective in the prevention and detection of fraud in financial statements, and that it should be modified, but not eliminated entirely. While some sentiment exists that SOX is salvageable if revisions are executed, both the quantitative and qualitative analyses indicate support of the null hypothesis, that SOX is not effective in the prevention and detection of fraud in financial statements.

Sarbanes-Oxley and the New Internal Auditing Rulesthoroughly and clearly explains the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, how itimpacts auditors, and how internal auditing can help with itsrequirements, such as launching an ethics and whistle-blowerprogram or performing effective internal controls reviews under theCOSO framework. With ample coverage of emerging rules that have yetto be issued and other matters subject to change, this bookoutlines fundamental blueprints of the new rules, technologicaldevelopments, and evolving trends that impact internal auditprofessionals. Order your copy today!

Praise for Sarbanes-Oxley Guide for Finance and Information Technology Professionals "Effective SOX programs enlist the entire organization to build and monitor a compliant control environment. However, even the best SOX programs are inefficient at best, ineffective at worst, if there is a lack of informed, competent finance and IT personnel to support the effort. This book provides these important professionals a needed resource for and road map toward successfully implementing their SOX initiative." —Scott Green Chief Administrative Officer, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and author, Sarbanes-Oxley and the Board of Directors "As a former CFO and CIO, I found this book to be an excellent synopsis of SOX, with impressive implementation summaries and checklists." —Michael P. Cangemi CISA, Editor in Chief, Information Systems Control Journal and author, Managing the Audit Function "An excellent introduction to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act from the perspective of the financial and IT professionals that are on the front lines of establishing compliance in their organizations. The author walks through many areas by asking 'what can go wrong' types of questions, and then outlines actions that should be taken as well as the consequences of noncompliance. This is a good book to add to one's professional library!" —Robert R. Moeller Author, Sarbanes-Oxley and the New Internal Auditing Rules "Mr. Anand has compiled a solid overview of the control systems needed for not only accounting systems, but also the information technologies that support those systems. Among the Sarbanes books on the market, his coverage of both topics is unique." —Steven M. Bragg Author, Accounting Best Practices "An excellent overview of the compliance process. A must-read for anyone who needs to get up to speed quickly with Sarbanes-Oxley." —Jack Martin Publisher, Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal

Sarbanes-Oxley Internal Controls: Effective Auditing with AS5, CobiT, and ITIL is essential reading for professionals facing the obstacle of improving internal controls in their businesses. This timely resource provides at-your-fingertips critical compliance and internal audit best practices for today's world of SOx internal controls. Detailed and practical, this introductory handbook will help you to revitalize your business and drive greater performance.