Q4 Blog

Last week, on Dec 13^th the SEC announced a number of coming changes. Of those related to us here at Q4 they first adopted a rule that will save corporations the expense of mailing financial reports and proxy statements by enabling them to communicate with the vast majority of their investors through the Internet. (Investors can continue to receive paper copies of proxies and other material through the mail if they request them.)  What this translates to is an increase in the use of the Internet to manage shareholder communication and disclosure. For more commentary check out Dominic’s post titled With e-proxy, SEC signals it gets the Web. 

The other major announcements related to the auditing rules and specifically section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which requires public companies to assess the controls they have put in place to ensure that their financial reports are reliable. The SEC will allow executives to evaluate the design of only those financial controls that might carry the risk of having a material impact on financial statements. 

“Companies of all sizes and complexities will be able to conduct their evaluations more effectively and efficiently by following the proposed guidance,” Mr. Cox said. “As smaller companies have less complex internal control systems than larger companies, this approach enables smaller companies, in particular, to scale and tailor their evaluation methods and procedures to fit their own facts and circumstances.” 

For a complete article visit The New York Times S.E.C. Eases Regulations on Business     

Technorati Tags: SEC, Compliance, Christopher Cox, Sarbanes Oxley, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, SOX, e-Proxies