Why should private companies implement Sarbanes-Oxley? While public companies must comply with provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, that's not the case for private companies. Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) looks at whether private companies are complying anyway--voluntarily.(private companies)

Financial Executive, April, 2005 by Buchman, Thomas; Reed, Ronald O.; Sinnett, William M.; Wobbekind, Richard

Publicly held companies are now reporting on the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting, as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. They have expended considerable time and effort to document and test their internal controls, and have paid their auditors significant sums to test these controls. Some companies have had to disclose material weaknesses that must now be remediated.

At the state level, some legislators, regulators and other elected or appointed officials are now seeking to duplicate or extend the provisions of the Act to privately held companies and their auditors. While some measures may have merit, and could be supported, other measures may be overreaching. Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) polled...

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