Consequences of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Financial Accounting and Reporting Quality, Capital Market

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Accounting and Taxes, grade: 1,7, University of Potsdam, language: English, abstract: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was introduced by President George W. Bush in the year 2002. This regulation changed disclosure and reporting requirements and aims to increase trust of the investors in capital markets again, after facing several balance and accounting scandals between the years 2000 and 2002, for example at Enron and WorldCom . The SOX affects companies with a registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There are two sections that are considered having a high impact on the corporate governance of complying firms, Section 302 (SOX 302) and Section 404 (SOX 404). SOX 302 - "Corporate Responsibility for Financial Reports"- demands the executives to assess whether firms' financial statements represent the financial situation and the results of the operations and the period. Executives should design, establish and maintain internal controls. An evaluation of the effectiveness, disclosures of deficiencies concerning internal controls, frauds et cetera is necessary (SOX, 2002, Section 302). SOX 404 - "Management Assessment of Internal Controls"- extends prior requirements and demands that the company's external auditor must report on the reliability of management's assessment of internal control every fiscal year. It also requires an annual attestation by the management that evaluates the reliability of financial statements (SOX, 2002, Section 404). Especially SOX 404 is considered a cost driver of the SOX and demands significant changes in financial reporting. Aim of SOX 302 and 404 is to improve internal controls, and to reduce opportunistic behaviour of executives. Prior studies show evidence that there seem to be differences between the perceived benefits and the target effects of the SOX, for example regarding audit quality after the SOX. Furthermore, there is a discussion questioning whether the SOX can be characterized as symbolic politics, or as an effective regulatory intervention. Hence, to evaluate the consequences and effectiveness of the SOX, there will be a focus on the impact of the sections that are considered having a high impact on complying firms. Therefore, a literature review will be made.