US delays Sarbox demand for small companies
SEC chairman says the audit section of internal controls requirements can be delayed until 2010
The SEC plans to give small companies more time to meet the compliance
demands of section 404.
The onerous rules on internal controls have not been fully rolled out to
companies with a turnover of less than $75m, and SEC chairman Christopher Cox
said yesterday he intended to give small companies another year to prepare for
the change.
Speaking to a US senate committee, Cox said that he plans to propose a
further one-year delay ‘in order to base our decision on final implementation of
section 404(b) on the best available cost data,’
Reuters
reported.
The delay will only apply to 404(b), the auditing part of the controls
requirement, and not 404(a), the management guidance part of the law.
The delay means small companies may not have to comply with the audit section
of the law until 2010.
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