Sox Compliance Services
Sarbanes- Oxley Compliance Services
Since it was enacted, the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act has resulted in significant changes to the corporate governance and financial reporting requirements of public companies. Section 404 of the SOX Act requires public companies to certify to the effectiveness of their internal control over financial reporting. The external auditors of public companies must then provide an opinion on the effectiveness of each company’s internal control.
To prepare for this certification, public companies must develop a compliance plan that includes the appropriate steps to ensure that significant risks have been identified and assessed and that key internal controls are in place to mitigate the significant risks.
The process of preparing for Section 404 requires public companies to have specialized knowledge of the requirements of the SOX Act, the COSO Framework, and the internal control auditing methodologies followed by financial statement audit firms.
Who does SOX Compliance apply to?
SOX applies to all publicly-traded companies in the U.S., in addition to any wholly-owned subsidiaries and foreign companies that are publicly traded and do business in the United States. SOX also regulates accounting firms that audit companies subject to SOX compliance.
Private companies, charities, and non-profits are generally not required to comply with all SOX requirements. However, private organizations who knowingly destroy or falsify financial data can still be penalized under certain SOX language. Private companies planning an initial public offering should prepare to comply with SOX before they go public.
Here is a short list of entities that fall under the purview of SOX:
- Publicly-traded companies based in the U.S.
- International companies that have stocks or securities registered with the SEC
- Private companies in certain areas of financial reporting
- Accounting firms that audit companies for SOX
If your company falls under one of these categories, you are subject to meeting data security and controls requirements, as specified under SOX.
Kaelven Sox Compliance Services
Kaelven provides a variety of readiness services based on the needs of each company. The services that we typically provide include one or more of the compliance phases described below:
- Documentation and Assessment of Compliance with the COSO Framework
- Risk Assessment Facilitation
- Documentation of Significant Processes and Systems
- Financial Reporting Risk and Internal Control Assessment
- Internal Control Testing and Reporting of Testing Results
- SOX Readiness Team
