SEC Endorses Recommendations to Ease 404 Controls

At an open meeting today, the SEC's Commissioners today endorsed the recommendations of the agency's professional staff to eliminate waste and duplication in the Sarbanes-Oxley compliance exercise, in a move that will particularly benefit smaller companies. The Commissioners urged the SEC staff to continue to work closely with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to make the internal controls provisions of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 more efficient and cost effective. The Commission expects the new PCAOB standard will be submitted for SEC review by the end of May or early June, in time for the 2007 financial statement audits.

"These needed improvements in the Sarbanes-Oxley process are especially urgent for smaller companies, who will begin complying with Section 404 this year," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. "The result of the new auditing standard for 404, together with the SEC's new guidance to management, should make the internal control review and audit more efficient by focusing the effort on what truly matters to the integrity of the financial statements," he added.  See SEC Commissioners Endorse Improved Sarbanes-Oxley Implementation To Ease Smaller Company Burdens, Focusing Effort On 'What Truly Matters' release 2007-62.