Resources for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)

Ethics refresher for Silicon Valley "gatekeepers"

www.mercurynews.com/

The taint of corporate scandals from Enron to stock-option backdating has heightened expectations that top executives, directors, attorneys and auditors will detect and defuse such incidents in the future, a high-powered panel said Thursday.

And "gatekeepers" who fail to act risk ruined careers, civil charges or even prison time.

"It really is your credibility and reputation that is on the line," said Rick Fezell, an audit partner with Ernst & Young in San Jose. "A lot of times, you have a lot more to lose than to gain."

The panel discussion - sponsored by the law firm Morrison Foerster and the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University - featured a Securities and Exchange director, a high-tech executive and director, an auditor, an ethicist and two corporate lawyers. Despite their disparate professional viewpoints, each illustrated how recent scandals have reshaped expectations and roles of gatekeepers in the wake of damaging headlines, zealous prosecution and legislation such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

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