Professor Elam

A MOVE TO CHANGE SARBANES-OXLEY

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@ November 4, 2009 8:22 AM Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

Hold on to your hats. I'm about to give The Community Organizer credit for something.

The Obama administration is apparently pushing Democrats in the House to reform the hideous act of 2002 known as Sarbanes-Oxley. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is spearheading the campaign to spare small public companies from complying with the costs of Sarbanes-Oxley. Rep. Carolyn Maloney is set to add the exemption to the House financial reform bill for firms with market values of less than $75 million. One Representative, John Adler, wants to increase that figure to firms with a market value below $700 million, until the SEC can figure out how to reduce compliance costs.

How much are we talking about in compliance costs? From Bloomberg: Small companies voluntarily adhering to the audit requirements said they spent $690,219 on average in their most recent fiscal year, according to an SEC survey in October. Businesses with market capitalizations from $75 million to $700 million spent $1 million and the largest U.S. corporations spent $3.99 million, the SEC said.