SOX News

New Protiviti Resource Guide Helps Companies Navigate Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Updates

(Aprl 10, 2008)-- Protiviti, provider of internal audit and risk and advisory services, has released the fourth edition of its highly acclaimed resource guide about Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act -- Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Internal Control Reporting Requirements. The guide, which answers 258 frequently asked questions about Section 404 and other related topics, addresses new guidance and standards issued in 2007 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The book also includes topics related to foreign filers and U.S. domestic non-accelerated filers and takes into account lessons learned since the guide's third edition was published in 2004.

"Protiviti created this guide based on what our team has learned from assisting thousands of organizations on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, along with what we glean regularly in the marketplace from attorneys, auditors, and others who deal with these requirements on a daily basis," said James DeLoach, managing director of Protiviti's Governance, Risk and Compliance Solutions group. "We designed this guide to be an easy-to-reference resource for companies as they document, evaluate and improve their internal control over financial reporting, and as they continue to enhance their executive certification process."

Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Internal Control Reporting Requirements contains practical insight on issues ranging from getting started with Section 404 compliance and identifying, documenting and assessing controls to special circumstances and situations. The Protiviti guide provides updated information based on key changes in the business environment, including:

-- The results of two joint roundtables conducted in 2005 and 2006 by the SEC and the PCAOB on the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley's internal control provisions.
-- The SEC's interpretive guidance to management, issued in 2007, for conducting the assessment process required by Section 404.
-- The PCAOB's Auditing Standard No. 5, also issued in 2007, intended to make the attestation process more cost-effective.
-- The SEC's creation of a "large accelerated filer" category and adoption of different deadlines for initial Section 404 compliance for accelerated foreign private issuer filers and non-accelerated U.S. domestic issuer and foreign private issuer filers.
-- The delay of the deadline for initial compliance with Section 404(b) requiring an attestation report for accelerated foreign private issuer filers and non-accelerated U.S. domestic issuer and foreign private issuer filers.
-- The SEC Commissioner's intention to propose an additional one-year delay for the external auditor's attestation under Section 404(b) related to smaller companies (which is now under proposal) and the
Commission's additional time granted to newly public companies to comply with Section 404.
-- The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission's (COSO) guidance on the use of its Internal Control -- Integrated Framework, particularly by smaller companies.

Other publications from Protiviti include: 2007 U.S. Risk Barometer Report; Guide to Enterprise Risk Management; and Guide to U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Requirements.

Share or bookmarklet this web page at: