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Sarbanes-Oxley News
Article:
Law credited with better governance and decline of the imperial CEO
Market observers believe that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has empowered shareholders, ending the time of the "imperial" CEO. SOX compliance standards demand that boards be independent, to the consternation of many CEOs. Critics of Sarbanes-Oxley believe that activist hedge funds are reaping the unintended rewards of this by "shaking up" management to raise stock prices and then quickly selling. Directors are also taking more responsibility thanks to SOX compliance standards. They are working harder to ensure that deals are legitimate since they are now personally liable under Sarbanes-Oxley. Some also blame Sarbanes-Oxley for inhibiting innovation; however, the Act has been credited for resulting in cleaner financial statements and restatements. Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley has raised the most eyebrows. It requires companies to report on their financial controls, but has been interpreted to such an extent that SOX compliance has been proven extremely costly. For this reason, the SEC has issued recent guidance on Section 404 compliance.
The Sarbanes-Oxley News Article
About OpenPages
OpenPages is the leading provider of Governance, Compliance and Risk
Management solutions
for Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance, Financial Controls Management, General
Compliance Management, Operational
Risk Management and IT
Governance.
The company’s solutions provide the visibility, decision support and
control to improve accountability, better manage risk, achieve compliance
with numerous regulations, improve operational performance and align strategies
to ensure better results.
Market-leading corporations in financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications,
media/entertainment, retail/consumer, energy, high technology, health services
and life sciences rely on OpenPages to help them achieve sustainable governance,
risk and compliance management -- enabling them to become well-governed businesses.
Founded in 1996, the company is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, with
regional offices throughout North America and international offices in London, Munich, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
For more information on OpenPages' suite of business governance software solutions
or to register for an online demonstration, please call 781-693-5999 or visit
www.openpages.com.
Reynolds American Selects OpenPages FCM for Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance.
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