Sarbanes -Oxley Act Forces Boards to React

In 2002 the much lauded Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed by the United States Congress. Another name for this landmark legislation is “The Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act.” This longer title tells a lot about this law, named for its two sponsors, Paul Sarbanes, Democrat of Maryland and Michael G. Oxley, Republican of Ohio.

Considering that it was co-sponsored by members of both parties and won almost unanimous support in the Senate and House (99-0 and 423-3 respectively) it was a law whose time had come.
Dennis Carey has discussed in several places the need for corporations to comply and move forward in the aftermath of this far-reaching legislation. To quote President George W. Bush, who signed SOX into law on July 30, 2002, this law includes,

“the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt.”