September 21, 2005 marked the first open meeting of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) under its new Chairman Christopher Cox.
More importantly, at that meeting the SEC approved a one year extension
for compliance with Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) section 404 for
non-accelerated filers. [1] The
Commission also proposed creating new categories for large accelerated
filers, who would be the only category subject to the initial phase-in
period and would make it easier for some companies to move from
accelerated to non-accelerated filer status. [2]
Section 404 of SOX requires companies to perform an audit of internal controls. One
of the most controversial sections of the act, under the current rules
accelerated filers must include in its annual report an audit by
independent auditors and a report by management that cover the
company’s internal controls over financial reporting. [3] For
accelerated filers the … Read the rest