Sarbanes-Oxley Act Essay - 727 Words

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Dana Smith LAW/321 December 6, 2011 Michelle Hamilton Sarbanes-Oxley Act In the corporate world today the rules and regulations are stricter than they were in early 2000. The development of corporate governance that established procedures to be used by officers and directors for lines of responsibility, approval, oversight by key stockholders, and set the rules for corporate decision making became more extreme. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 made the use of ethical decision making more prominent in todays business environment. The SOX Act established the penalties for both criminal and civil charges as well as those in the corporate world are not protected. The term piercing the corporate veil†¦show more content†¦Officers who certify reports knowing that the information is false can be awarded criminal penalties of $1 million in fines and 10 years in prison. If the reports were used in a larger fraudulent scheme the penalties increase to $5 million in fines and 20 years in prison. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is adopting a rule to adjust for the inflation on the maximum amount of civil monetary for certain penalties under the SOX Act. The SEC is requiring federal agency to adopt new regulations at least once every four years. A civil monetary penalty is any penalty, fine, or sanction for a specific amount, or maximum amount, as provided by federal law and is assessed or enforced by the agency in court. Under the SOX Act civil penalties include reinstating the whistle blowing employee to the same position with back pay and interest, compensatory damages, and attorneys fees and costs. The Sox Act does not protect employees complaints to the news media. These acts, also called leaks to the media, by themselves do not constitute whistle blowing. A complaint must be made to a law enforcement agency. The legal decision to treat the rights or duties of a corporation as the rights or liabilities of its directors is called piercing the corporate ve il or lifting the corporate veil. A corporation is treated as a separate legal person for the sole responsible of debts incurred. Corporations areShow MoreRelatedSarbanes Oxley Act1322 Words   |  6 PagesSarbanes-Oxley Act The Sarbanes-Oxley is a U.S. federal law that has generated much controversy, and involved the response to the financial scandals of some large corporations such as Enron, Tyco International, WorldCom and Peregrine Systems. These scandals brought down the public confidence in auditing and accounting firms. The law is named after Senator Paul Sarbanes Democratic Party and GOP Congressman Michael G. Oxley. It was passed by large majorities in both Congress and the Senate and coversRead MoreAnalysis of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act3143 Words   |  13 PagesAnalysis of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Abstract The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted in July 30, 2002, by Congress to protect shareholders and the general public from fraudulent corporate practices and accounting errors and to maintain auditor independence.    In protecting the shareholders and the general public the SOX Act is intended to improve the transparency of the financial reporting.    Financial reports are to be certified by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial OfficerRead MoreEssay on The Sarbanes-Oxley Act852 Words   |  4 Pagestoday that are using the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) legislation that helps to safeguard their company and their financial records. The Sarbanes-Oxley act began in 2002 and the purpose behind this act was to protect organizations, it had a major impact on accounting and record keeping. Because of Enron, they passed this act for publicly-traded corporations to better implement control to their enterprise data. â€Å"Named after Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Mic hael Oxley, who also set a number ofRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act and the PCAOB Essay1661 Words   |  7 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act Overview: The development of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was a result of public company scandals. The Enron and Worldcom scandals, for example, helped investor confidence in entities traded on the public markets weaken during 2001 and 2002. Congress was quick to respond to the political crisis and enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which was signed into law by President Bush on July 30 (Edward Jones, 1), to restore investor confidence. In reference to SOX, penaltiesRead MoreSarbanes-Oxley Act Research Paper1097 Words   |  5 PagesSarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Karla Azcue ACC 120-09 Mr. Donald Senior The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is one of the most important legislations passed in the 21st century effecting financial practice and corporate governance. This act was passed on July 30, 2002 thanks to Representative Michael Oxley a republican from Ohio and Senator Paul Sarbanes a democrat from Maryland. They both passed two different bills that pertain to the same problem which had to do with corporations auditing accountabilityRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesSarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ACC/561 Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Following a number of discovered fraud scandals committed by well-known corporations and in order to restore public confidence in the stock market and trading of securities, the United States congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the year 2002. As a result of the act endorsement by the New York Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission, among many other national overseeing committees, a number of rules and regulationsRead MoreSarbanes Oxley Act Research Paper1787 Words   |  8 Pagesï » ¿Sarbanes Oxley Act Research Project Brielle Lewis MBA 315 March 6, 2014 I. Abstract The purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities law, and for other purposes. (Lander, 2004) The Act created new standards for public companies and accounting firms to abide by. After multiple business failures due to fraudulent activities and embezzlement at companies such as Enron Sarbanes andRead MoreSarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Essays1756 Words   |  8 PagesIntroduction In July of 2002, Congress swiftly passed the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investors Protection Act at the time when corporations like Arthur Anderson, Enron and WorldCom fell due to fraudulent accounting practices and bad internal control. This bill, sponsored by Mike Oxley (R-OH) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), became known as Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).It sought to restore public confidence in publicly traded companies and their accounting practices, though the companies listed aboveRead MoreThe Implications of the Sarbanes Oxley Act on the Accounting Profession755 Words   |  4 PagesThe Implications of the Sarbanes Oxley Act on the Accounting Profession Abstract On July 30, 2002, the Sarbanes Oxley Act (also known as SOX) was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 is a federal law that set new or improved standards for all U.S. public company boards, management and public accounting firms. Covered in the eleven titles are additional corporate board responsibilities, auditing requirements and criminal penalties. ThisRead MoreEssay on Overview of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)1342 Words   |  6 PagesThe Sarbanes-Oxley Act, frequently known as the SOX. The act was passed on in 2002 as a federal United States law. The law was drafted in response to the numerous numbers of financial scandals performed by high profile corporations such as Johnson Johnson. The action has created a new company standard of responsibility in order to protect the valued stakeholders, as well as the public, from the deceitful practices of various organizations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act