SEC meeting to discuss Sarbanes-Oxley changes

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is to hold an open meeting this week to discuss the accounting oversight body's proposal for changes to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The SEC is to also discuss the co-ordination of the changes, proposed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, in relation to the SEC's own guidance concerning implementation.

The meeting is a direct result of a pledge made by the two organisations last year, to make compliance with s404's internal controls rules more efficient and cost effective.

The SEC proposed guidance which is designed to focus on internal controls that present the greatest risk for a material financial misstatement.

At the same time, the PCAOB proposed a revision of its existing standard for s404 audits.

Both organisations received comment letters on this, highlighting the need for alignment between both group's proposals.

Further reading:

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