I just came across a great article on computer world titled Sarbanes-Oxley compliance costs drop, better processes credited . Here’s a slightly paraphrased version:
Couple of studies have come out stating Sarbanes-Oxley costs are going down. The latest, according to a survey by Financial Executives International. The Florham Park, N.J.-based organization found the average company spent $2.9 million on SOX compliance in 2006, versus $3.8 million in 2005 and $4.5 million in 2004. – 23% reduction. The prime driver for this reduction is based on companies automating their controls
“Technology has a …

Yesterday the CSA formally launched their XBRL voluntary filing program that was announced back in January. Here’s the press release from OSC’s web site.  
Toronto – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced today the launch of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) voluntary filing program. The voluntary program will help the Canadian marketplace gain practical knowledge and experience preparing and using financial statements in XBRL format.
XBRL is an emerging business reporting language designed to make it easier for investors and analysts to quickly access data and analyze information from a greater number …

Press release went our yesterday announcing that Forsys Metals had gone live. We’re quite pleased to add Forsys to our growing list of clients. Here’s the full release:
TORONTO, ONTARIO — (MARKET WIRE) — May 16, 2007 — Q4 Web Systems is pleased to announce that Forsys Metals Corp., (TSX – FSY) has recently selected Q4 Web Systems to automate its corporate website disclosure , and is fully functional and operating on the company’s software platform.
“Issuers in both the US and Canada are now beginning to understand the risks related to …

According to the Financial Times, Christopher Cox announced yesterday that the SEC is going to formalize a new rule to require all companies to report financial information in XBRL.
This is not surprising, especially considering the consistent messages we’ve been hearing from Cox regarding the benefits of interactive data (aka XBRL) it seemed just a matter of time until it was to be mandated. As of today there’s been no mentioned about when this rule will be put in place and it’s not formally listed on the SEC web site.
Cox said …

A great post by Hitachi XBRL (one of the leading xbrl groups out there). 
Another example of expanding XBRL beyond financial statements is the work being done by a nonprofit group called the Enhanced Business Reporting Consortium.  The EBRC is attempting to organize a market-based initiative involving the collaboration of companies, investors, and a wide range of intermediaries like sell-side analysts, rating agencies, and accounting firms.  Recently members of this group met with SEC Chairman Christopher Cox to talk about how XBRL could be extended into broader narrative reporting, such as …

I just finished reading this article about the concept of mash ups coming to the Goverance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) space. “Mashups” as defined on wikipedia is “A mashup is a website or application that combines content from more than one source into an integrated experience.”
 
The concept comes form the Web 2.0 culture and it generally refers to web application and their content being combined to form new and useful tools. If you’re interested you can find lots of great mashups here.
Here’s a brief quote from the GRC mashup article …

We’re please to announce that Tara Gold Resources has selected Q4’s disclosure software to automate its corporate website disclosure processes. The Tara web site went live on the Q4 system recently and includes all of our innovative services that improve compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and reduce disclosure risk.  
 

Learn more about Tara Gold Resources Corp.
Technorati Tags: Disclosure, Investor Relations, Sarbanes-Oxley, Sox, Gold 
 
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A study commissioned by Symantec Corp. revealed today that only 10 per cent of executives believe Canadian businesses are fully prepared to conform to Bill 198 and MI 52-109 compliance legislation.
The press release goes on to say that senior compliance professionals from Symantec advise executives to consider the benefits offered by software-based automation tools intended to make financial disclosure less labour intensive and less expensive to prove compliance to auditors and regulators. 
“Meeting first-year Bill 198 deadlines was only half the battle, and, unfortunately, a high level of both inaction and resistance …

It’s an exciting time here as we continue to bring on new clients. Recently Newport Partners Income Fund (TSX: NPF.UN) went live with our content management and disclosure automation solutions. Using our solutions will help them to improve compliance with Bill 198 and their CEO and CFO certification of disclosure controls and procedures.
Newport invests in the private business asset class. Newport’s objective is to make long-term equity investments in leading private businesses that have a track record of strong earnings and potential for future growth. Newport’s portfolio currently consists of 17 …

Yesterday we had a chance to visit with a couple of our new and prospective clients at the PDAC show in Toronto yesterday. PDAC is the largest mining show in the world and brings people from all around the world. It’s a massive event with roughly 18,000 delegates and virtually every mining company you can think of.  No wonder the event goes for 3 ½  days, you’d need that just to be able to walk the floor!
Technorati Tags: PDAC, Investor Relations, Q4 Web Systems, Q4
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