Section 404 Sarbanes Oxley Act

Section 404 is the most complicated most contested and most expensive to implement of all the sarbanes oxley act sections for compliance.
Section 404 sarbanes oxley act. The benefits were seen as greater assurance to shareholders and other stakeholders in published financial reports while compliance costs were of lesser significance and were dramatically underestimated. Three of its key provisions are commonly referred to by their section numbers. Management assessment of internal controls.
It created the public company accounting oversight board to oversee the accounting industry. 2 the act strengthens the independence and financial literacy of corporate boards. 1 it banned company loans to executives and gave job protection to whistleblowers.
The sarbanes oxley act of 2002 is a complex and lengthy piece of legislation. Assessment of internal control further information. Since the law was enacted however both requirements have been postponed for smaller public companies.
The requirement of an auditor s attestation won t apply to most smaller public companies until their 2008 annual reports. Sox 404 top down risk assessment the most contentious aspect of sox is section 404 which requires management and the external auditor to report on the adequacy of the company s internal control on financial reporting icfr. Section 404 b of sarbanes oxley act of 2002.
Section 404 of the sarbanes oxley act requires public companies annual reports to include the company s own assessment of internal control over financial reporting and an auditor s attestation. Sox section 404 guide for small business. Summary of section 404.
Since the law was enacted however both requirements have been postponed for smaller public companies. All annual financial reports must include an internal control report stating that management is responsible for an adequate internal control structure and an assessment by management of the effectiveness of the control structure. Sarbanes oxley act section 404 this section is listed under title iv of the act enhanced financial disclosures and pertains to management assessment of internal controls.