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Sarbanes Oxley Memo

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Sarbanes Oxley Memo
Ancher Public Trading
TO: Board of Directors
FROM: Learning Team A consultants
DATE: August 22, 2005
SUBJECT: Sarbanes-Oxley recommendations

As consultants for Ancher Public Trading (APT), Learning Team A would like to discuss the implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) legislation. This memorandum provides a brief history of SOX¡¦s creation, explains the relationship amongst the FASB, SEC and PCAOB, describes the pros and cons of SOX, assesses the impacts of SOX, and lists ethical considerations of SOX.

History of SOX - the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is legislation in response to the high profile financial scandals, such as seen with Enron and WorldCom. The purpose of this act is to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent business practices. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act introduced stringent new rules to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws. Sarbanes-Oxley is not a set of business practices and does not specify how a business should store records; rather, Sarbanes-Oxley defines which records are to be stored and for how long.

A.) The relationship among the FASB, SEC and PCAOB
„« SOX is administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC sets deadlines for compliance and publishes rules on requirements. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the department to which all publicly-traded companies, effective since 2004, are required to submit annual reports of the effectiveness of their internal accounting controls. The SEC has broad authority over all aspects of the securities industry. This includes the power to register, regulate, and oversee brokerage firms, transfer agents, and clearing agencies. Along with them, is the FASB.
„« The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), is a professional standards board created by accountants to establish Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP),



References: Barlas, D. (2004, December). The cost and benefits of SOX. Line56 ,Retrieved August 17, 2001. Retrieved on 8/19/2005, from http://ww.line56.com/articles. Hein, M. (2002). The Sarbanes Oxley act of 2002 effects sweeping changes to the U.S. federal securities laws. Retrieved on August 21, 2005, from www. www.gtlaw.com. Hyatt, J. (2005). Birth of the ethics industry. Business Ethics Online, The magazine of corporate responsibility. Retrieved on 8/19/2005, from www.business-ethics.com. Johnson, C. (2005). Pros and cons of accounting rules weighed Sarbanes Oxley - more audits, accountability. San Francisco Chronicle on the Web. Retrieved August 17, 2001, from gin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/05/BUGJBE3DQ71.html. Leporte, G. (2007). Chief of the office of small business policy at the U.S. sSecurities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved on August 17th, 2005, from http://accounting.smartpros.com . Linsley, C. (2003). Auditing, risk management and a post Sarbanes-Oxley world. Review of Business. Solomon, Deborah. (March, 2005) Accounting Rule Exposes Problems But Draws Complaints About Costs. Wall Street Journal. Wallace, S. (2005). Only the ethical need apply. The Christian Science Monitor. March 30, 2005 edition.

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