February 02, 2007
Business and Politics...Be Careful Who you Think your Friends are
President Bush's approval ratings from the American public have risen slightly since the State of the Union address. You have to give this guy one thing: unlike prior administrations, he does not cave into pressure from polls.
In his speech to Wall Street earlier this week, the President stated that SOX 404 should be implemented differently not repealed. He is consistent. The interesting thing for people to remember about SOX 404 is that part of the legislation that people have the most issue with is the external auditor auditor attestation. Interestingly, this addition was done by Congress and would take "an act of congress to revoke". Even more interesting was that there was over whelming bi-partisan support for Sarbanes-Oxley at the time. So for those who hope that a democratic congress will help them out, don't hold your breath.
For instance, the Senate, under Senator Harry Reid's leadership passed an increase to the minimum wage with no tax breaks for smaller business. This does not seem very pro business. The House, on the other hand passed the bill for the increase with help for small business. We will see what the final bill has. President Bush is asking the Senate to put in help for small business.
The democrats are not pro business. Just yesterday "Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, took direct aim yesterday at the oil companies' gains.
"Instead of lining the pockets of big oil, we need a new direction in energy policy that rewards innovation, creates jobs and reduces our dependence on foreign oil," she said in a statement.
She called for the elimination of "oil company tax breaks," with the additional revenue going to fund biofuels and other clean-energy technologies. "
Powerful democrats do not see business as the engine of America. They see it as something exploit and slash for the benefit of the little people.
Section 404 is great legislation. The SEC has provided more guidance to management and the PCAOB is working on a new audit standard. There is no rolling back the clock on this one.
If your company needs assistance in the effective and sustainable compliance in SOX 404 or MI 52-109, contact http://www.issuescentral.com/ for more information on Compliance Playbook® for companies based outside of Canada. For Canadian based companies, see http://www.compliancepartner.ca/ for more information on Compliance Partner™ from Thomson Carswell.
In his speech to Wall Street earlier this week, the President stated that SOX 404 should be implemented differently not repealed. He is consistent. The interesting thing for people to remember about SOX 404 is that part of the legislation that people have the most issue with is the external auditor auditor attestation. Interestingly, this addition was done by Congress and would take "an act of congress to revoke". Even more interesting was that there was over whelming bi-partisan support for Sarbanes-Oxley at the time. So for those who hope that a democratic congress will help them out, don't hold your breath.
For instance, the Senate, under Senator Harry Reid's leadership passed an increase to the minimum wage with no tax breaks for smaller business. This does not seem very pro business. The House, on the other hand passed the bill for the increase with help for small business. We will see what the final bill has. President Bush is asking the Senate to put in help for small business.
The democrats are not pro business. Just yesterday "Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, took direct aim yesterday at the oil companies' gains.
"Instead of lining the pockets of big oil, we need a new direction in energy policy that rewards innovation, creates jobs and reduces our dependence on foreign oil," she said in a statement.
She called for the elimination of "oil company tax breaks," with the additional revenue going to fund biofuels and other clean-energy technologies. "
Powerful democrats do not see business as the engine of America. They see it as something exploit and slash for the benefit of the little people.
Section 404 is great legislation. The SEC has provided more guidance to management and the PCAOB is working on a new audit standard. There is no rolling back the clock on this one.
If your company needs assistance in the effective and sustainable compliance in SOX 404 or MI 52-109, contact http://www.issuescentral.com/ for more information on Compliance Playbook® for companies based outside of Canada. For Canadian based companies, see http://www.compliancepartner.ca/ for more information on Compliance Partner™ from Thomson Carswell.
