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.”

Brave New Future for Boards and Management

We have entered a brave new world of corporate strategy, according to Dennis Carey in response to the corporate world’s compliance with the latest regulations coming from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (SOX.) Now that the adjustment to the new regulations has been successfully made, boards need to re-tool their strategies for success so that there is a new emphasis on human capital and creating better value for the shareholders of the corporation.

Increasingly, says Dennis Carey, it is growth, innovation and creativity that drive the agenda of the top executives. But boards do not function in a vacuum. On the contrary, although boards of directors set strategy and policy, it is management that of necessity must implement that strategy. Therefore, Dennis Carey continues, the boards that create good working relationships and partnerships with their management will find that their strategies will not be left behind on the drawing board, but will be implemented. This is a true formula for success.

Corporate Reform and Sarbanes-Oxley

In the wake of the passage of the historical Sarbanes-Oxley Act it is time for corporate boards in the United States to refocus their attention on developing new strategies for success.

Dennis Carey believes that for the most part boards have gotten past the initial struggle to comply with the new rules and regulations legislated by SOX, (Sarbanes-Oxley), and it is time for them to go forward into the future.

SOX forced corporate boards of directors to turn inward and adjust their practices to the new accounting compliance rules. Now that these rules have been digested Dennis Carey would like to see the next reform incorporating together human capital with long-term strategy.