June 27, 2005
Sarbanes-Oxley: Let's Hear from Shareholders for a Change
We hear from SEC filers about the hardships of Sarbanes-Oxley - pretty much non-stop. But what about the investors? What do they think? It was put into place for investor protection.
Not surprisingly they have a much different view of the benefits. Costs may be high but the benefits are higher.
An excerpt from an article is here.
"Indeed, Better Investing magazine reports that while most investors believe SOX was created in the best interests of both investors and public companies, 85 percent say their level of confidence in company reports has stayed the same or even declined since SOX went into effect. More significantly, 63 percent of investors say the rules are still too lenient, even as they recognize increased regulation and oversight ultimately hurts investors by driving up the costs of doing business. Audit Analytics reports that SOX has already caused auditing costs to increase an average of 40 percent or $13 million dollars among the nation’s largest publicly-held corporations.
Investors do feel SOX will board members and executives will take their jobs more seriously. They will approach their jobs differently and do more research into the companies they serve. Further, despite rising complaints from chief financial officers who have experienced some of the most dramatic changes in their job descriptions and corporate accountability, 64 percent of shareholders don’t think SOX or scandals will discourage qualified individuals from seeking executive positions or appointments to corporate boards."
For the complete article, click here.
To learn more about how your company can more cost effectively and rapidly comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, see www.issuescentral.com or call (800) 610-6681 ext 112 to see a demonstration of the Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Playbook(tm)
Not surprisingly they have a much different view of the benefits. Costs may be high but the benefits are higher.
An excerpt from an article is here.
"Indeed, Better Investing magazine reports that while most investors believe SOX was created in the best interests of both investors and public companies, 85 percent say their level of confidence in company reports has stayed the same or even declined since SOX went into effect. More significantly, 63 percent of investors say the rules are still too lenient, even as they recognize increased regulation and oversight ultimately hurts investors by driving up the costs of doing business. Audit Analytics reports that SOX has already caused auditing costs to increase an average of 40 percent or $13 million dollars among the nation’s largest publicly-held corporations.
Investors do feel SOX will board members and executives will take their jobs more seriously. They will approach their jobs differently and do more research into the companies they serve. Further, despite rising complaints from chief financial officers who have experienced some of the most dramatic changes in their job descriptions and corporate accountability, 64 percent of shareholders don’t think SOX or scandals will discourage qualified individuals from seeking executive positions or appointments to corporate boards."
For the complete article, click here.
To learn more about how your company can more cost effectively and rapidly comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, see www.issuescentral.com or call (800) 610-6681 ext 112 to see a demonstration of the Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Playbook(tm)
