Sarbanes-Oxley Act Paper

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Paper
Mr. Marshall
August 1, 2016
Charles Houle

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Paper
The purpose of this paper is to explain, discuss, describe and differentiate various questions and situations in regards to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This Act is sponsored by Senator Paul Sarbanes (Democrat/Maryland) & Representative Michael Oxley (Republican/Ohio), and approved by Congress following the Enron & WorldCom scandals. Specifically, the following questions and statements will be answered herein and throughout this paper (Reed, Pagattaro, Cahoy, Shedd, & Morehead, 2016):
  * Summarize the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as it relates to U.S. business operations.
  * Explain the governance principles of regulatory compliance requirements related to Sarbanes-Oxley.
  * Discuss the role of the SEC and how Sarbanes-Oxley affected the agency.
  * Explain how Sarbanes-Oxley strengthened the enforcement of securities fraud and helped with the implementation of accounting reforms.
It is obviously important for future business owners to comprehend these concepts and understand how the SEC and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act guides proper business practices and helps to prevent companies from committing fraudulent activities.
Summarize the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as it relates to U.S. business operations
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act initiated a reformation of how businesses in the United States reported their financial status, this included accounting and auditing functions within and outside the companies (Slaughter, n.d.). The changes included the installment of an oversight board (PCAOB), internal control processes, personal liabilities that rest in the hands of executives, boards, and auditors, as well as accounting firm monitoring and the separation of consulting and auditing as two distinct duties not to be accomplished by the same company (Slaughter, n.d.).
From a business perspective this added more expenses, time and resources such as...