Research Paper on Business Ethics

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The Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on Businesses

Student's Name

A JuniorThesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for graduation
in the Honors Program
Harvard University
November 2015

 
Table of Contents

Page No.
Abstract ..................................................... ................................................................ 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ............................................................................. 4
SOX Information .......................................................................................... 4
SOX Provisions ............................................................................................ 5
The Effects of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on Companies ..................................... 6
Arguments Regarding SOX's Compliance Costs ..................................................... 8
The Effectiveness of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act ......................................................... 9
Exemption from SOX .............................................................................................. 9
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 10
References ................................................................................................................ 11
 
Abstract
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was enacted by Congress in response to the lack of confidence and trust in the United States public markets. After the various corporate scandals regarding the financial accounting and internal controls that have resulted to failures in some big companies in 2001, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which has is now commonly referred to as SOX, has been enacted to prevent cases of similar mismanagement in corporate governance.
However, complying with SOX entails high-expense to companies and both small-capital and big companies are trying to find ways to be exempted from it. Through intensive study, the researcher has determined the validity of the companies' arguments as well as the impact of implementing the SOX in smaller companies.
While there are initial costs in the implementation of the SOX, the benefits outweigh the costs of implementing the system. Several significant matters have been discovered during the implementation of the SOX which led them to amend the Act to include an exemption that has helped minimize its effect on some smaller companies.
 
The Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on Small Businesses
In 2001, the whole corporate world of the United States of America was rocked by the horrific incident of the Enron and the WorldCom scandals. The American government, investors and the public demanded reforms in the corporate world to prevent the same instances to happen in the future. The scandals were viewed to be caused by poor governance, as well as inefficient internal control systems and ineffective disclosure practices.
After the scandals that happened, Congress created measures to protect investors from future dishonest auditors and executives by passing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that sets the standards of financial reporting.
With the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also known as SOX, the executives are responsible for the accurate reporting of the company's financial accounting statements. There has been a modification in the relationships between companies and their auditors. In the public corporations, the internal audit systems have also been revamped. The SOX of 2002 has redefined the accounting world of the American corporations and it was the first ...