Legislation passed largely because of a number of corporate accounting scandals to protect shareholders and the public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices in the enterprise. The act is administered by the SEC, which sets deadlines for compliance and publishes rules on requirements. Sarbanes-Oxley is not a set of business practices and does not specify how a business should store records; rather, it defines which records are to be stored and for how long. The legislation not only affects the financial side of corporations, but also affects the IT departments whose job it is to store a corporation's electronic records. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for “not less than five years”. The consequences for non-compliance are fines, imprisonment, or both. IT departments are increasingly faced with the challenge of creating and maintaining a corporate records archive in a cost-effective fashion that satisfies the requirements put forth by the legislation.
Legislation requiring management of publicly-traded companies to report and to augment internal control over financial reporting.
Established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and added requirements for publicly traded companies, their officers, boards and auditors. It increased penalties for corporate financial fraud.
The federal legislation passed in 2002 that requires, among other items, CEO/CFO certification of financial statements and internal controls, independent audit committees, and outside auditor lead partner rotation. It also prohibits loans to executives and directors.
US capital-markets law dating from 2002 passed as a reaction to a number of financial scandals. The act strengthens corporate governance and is thereby intended to win back the trust of investors in the capital market. The law obliges corporate management to perform its duty regarding the completeness and correctness of the figures in quarterly and annual reports. The new, expanded regulations apply to all companies listed on a US stock exchange.
Also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act responds to a number of high profile corporate scandals, involving Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Anderson and others. The (US) Act radically redesigned federal regulation of public company corporate governance and reporting obligations.
U.S. federal law passed in 2002 with the intention of holding corporations more responsible for their actions, particularly in their obligations to shareholders. SOX requires the keeping of accurate records on all aspects of business, including maintenance operations.
Pub. L. No. 107-204, 116 Stat. 745 (July 30, 2002), is a United States federal law also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002. It established a public company accounting oversight board to monitor corporate responsibility and protects employees of public companies who "blow the whistle" on securities law and other violations from retaliation. Section 806 of the Act (codified as 18 U.S.C. § 1514A) creates a right of civil action in federal court that protects whistleblowers against retaliation in securities fraud cases. Section 1107 (codified as 18 U.S.C. § 1513(e)) provides for criminal penalties of up to ten years in prison and a fine for retaliation against informants.
US legislation to ensure internal controls or rules to govern the creation and documentation of corporate information in financial statements. It establishes new standards for corporate accountability and penalties for corporate wrongdoing.
US legislation enacted in response to the accounting and corporate scandals of 2001–2002, including Enron's collapse. The Act was named after Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley and is arranged in 11 titles. Compliance with provisions of the Act is mandatory. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 established the duties of a firmâ€(tm)s board of directors, as well as advising on auditing and other business requirements. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is generally considered the single most important piece of legislation affecting corporate governance, financial disclosure, and public accounting since the US securities laws enacted in the 1930s. The Act is often referred to variously as SOX, S-O, or SOA.
As a German company which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, E.ON and, as its subsidiary, Viterra are subject to the regulations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Among other things, this Act obliges companies to maintain an internal control system for accounting, to assess the effectiveness of the systems and to have the correctness of the annual and monthly reports certified. SOX was enacted by the US legislature in 2002 as a result of the scandals surrounding the financial statements and the collapse of some companies. It is the most significant change in the US Securities Acts since 1933/34. The Act applies to all companies which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
A law enacted in the United States in 2002 to improve corporate financial reporting. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act applies to U.S. companies and foreign companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges.
Synonyms: SOX Related Terms: compliance, search engine data quality A stricter set of government regulations controlling how companies must handle their data. Search engines are sometimes used in this application, and there may be legal requirements to insure that all documents are properly indexed and searchable. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes_oxley
United States law passed in July 2002 making further provisions on the financial information of companies offering guarantees to the public. In particular, the new law requires greater accuracy and reliability of the financial statements.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is legislation enacted by Congress in response to high-profile financial scandals such as Enron and WorldCom. SOX helps protect shareholders and the general public from the accounting errors and fraudulent practices in the enterprise. Go to www.sarbanes-oxley.com.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush and became effective on July 30, 2002.The Act contains sweeping reforms for issuers of publicly traded securities, auditors, corporate board members, and lawyers. It adopts tough new provisions intended to deter and punish corporate and accounting fraud and corruption, threatening severe penalties for wrongdoers, and protecting the interests of workers and shareholders.
A bill aimed at curbing improper financial reporting and increasing the liabilities of CEO's and CFO's to "take ownership and responsibility" for reported financial results. Named after sponsors Senator Paul Sarbanes (D–Md.) and Representative Michael G. Oxley (R–Oh.), the Act was approved overwhelmingly by the United States Senate and House of Representatives. The act, itself, was brought on by the collapse of companies due to improper financial reporting. These companies included Enron, Tyco International and Worldcom. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is often referred to as "SOX" by consultants and accountants. It is also important to note that large consulting firms have derived significant financial revenues to help companies become "SOX compliant". Not all CEO's are fans of SOX. As an example, Dominic D'Alessandro, CEO of Manulife Financial (a company with a spotless financial history), outlines in a speech his many issues with SOX compliance.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-204, 116 Stat. 745, also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called SOX or Sarbox; July 30, 2002) is a United States federal law passed in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Peregrine Systems and World Com (recently MCI and now currently part of Verizon Businesses). These scandals resulted in a decline of public trust in accounting and reporting practices.
