The US Sarbanes-Oxley Act continues to attract enormous attention in the US and Europe. In early November came political chaos following the resignations of chairman Harvey Pitt from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and of former judge and FBI and CIA director William Webster from leadership of the new public accounting oversight board.
Meanwhile, SEC staff have forged grimly ahead with the implementation of the wide-ranging Act. In the last six weeks, they have released no fewer than eight proposed rules covering changes mandated by the Act and other measures inspired by recent corporate governance scandals. These proposed rules cover such matters as standards of professional conduct for lawyers practising before the SEC, auditor independence, retention by accountants of records relevant to audits and reviews, trades by senior management during pension blackout periods, conditions for use of non-GAAP financial measures, required disclosure covering off-balance sheet arrangements, contractual obligations and contingent liabilities, and various other governance standards for senior management and audit committees.
