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Sarbanes-Oxley Act -- it's a good thing
In the wake of the horrible corporate scandals of recent years, including Enron and Arthur Anderson, it became readily apparent that some kind of regulation of ethics must be established. Indeed, any scandal in which large numbers of investors lose billions of dollars due to misconduct, is likely to bring action, and the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002 is just that. However, although much is said about the useful effects of the act on the economy in general (after all, the confidence of investors is one of the strongest key's to a robust economy), the impact on individual employee "whistleblowers" within corporations is perhaps the most striking with regard to the expression of personal business ethics and responsibilities, as well as the effectiveness of the Act itself.
Most people consider the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or "SOA" to be an excellent example of the much needed strict rules and reporting guidelines designed to keep questionable corporate practices...
Indeed, recent events, Martha Stewart included, have illustrated the complete abdication of ethical standards among many corporate "big wigs." To be sure, such measures are designed to keep senior management on the straight and narrow. However, the impact of the Act on potential "whistleblowers" is perhaps one of the most significant parts of the law.
Previous to the SOA, so called "whistleblowers" or individuals within a corporation who either for ethical, or personal reasons, took it upon themselves to inform on the illegal or unethical practices of their employers, were in a precarious position. Not only could they face demotion, harassment or outright termination as a result of their disclosures, but they could also be "blacklisted" from further employment elsewhere. However, the SOA put an end to that on July 30, 2002, the day President Bush signed the Act into law.
Thankfully, section 806 of the Act provides significant protection to employees of companies (publicly traded)…
In short, the Sarbanes-Oxley act is a powerful, and much needed addition to the laws governing publicly traded companies. However, the most significant aspect of the Act is its provisions for whistleblowers. After all, when the Martha's of the world have employees looking over their shoulders, they might think twice before acting unethically. Sure, imposed ethics are poor shadows of authentic integrity -- but an investor will take what he or she can get, as long as it prevents the loss of all they have invested in good faith.
Gamble, John. Sarbanes-Oxley. Retrieved from Web site on 03 March, 2004<http://www.laborlawyers.com/FSL5CS/interview%20with%20the%20expert/interview%20with%20the%20expert75.asp
Ibid.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act The objective of this study is to read the guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and to: (1) Evaluate the effectiveness of regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley Act over minimizing the corporate fraud and protecting investors make one suggestion for improvement; (2) Given the oversight of the accounting profession by the PCAOB as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, assess the impact on auditing firms and the public accounting professions; (3)
Sarbanes-Oxley Act The Impact Upon the Accounting Profession What it does The Effect of Sarbanes-Oxley on the Accounting Profession New Rules, New Practices The past few years have remarkably changed the face of American business. Corporate scandals involving America's largest companies have shaken the confidence and trust that the public once had in big business. The desire to boost earnings has led some executives to commit crimes, in order to fatten their own pockets, at
Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Internet security systems As well as impacting accounting, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act also had a significant impact upon IT security: "Each organization that is affected by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has some level of reliance on automated information systems to process and store the data that is the basis of financial reports. The Act requires these organizations to consider the IT security controls that are in place to promote the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act While most Americans know the names Enron and Worldcom, fewer know the term Sarbanes-Oxley Act; however, despite the alarming impact of the two business disasters, the potential impact of Sarbanes-Oxley stands to exceed the impact of those two bankruptcies many times over. While Enron and Worldcom each held a claim to 'biggest' or 'most' in some aspect of global business and also in various aspects of global business disaster,
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOA) was put into law in 2002 following the revelations that Enron (and Enron's accountancy Arthur Anderson), WorldCom, and other corporations were using blatantly corrupt practices in accounting and causing huge losses for stakeholders in those firms. Moreover, the U.S. Congress could not simply stand by and allow companies to use unethical and illegal practices to scam huge sums of money for corporate executives while stripping the IRAs
Sarbanes-Oxley Act Evaluating the effectiveness of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act The Public Company Accounting Reform (PCAR) and Investor Protection Act (IPA) was established in mid-2002 by the congress with the emergence of unceremonious scandals in accounting practice that resulted in firms going bankrupt and losing huge stocks in the stock market (Prentice & Bredeson, 2010). This act is what is referred to as Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002. The act also led to the