SEC Sets Date for SOX Controls Roundtable

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that it would hold its previously announced roundtable on the internal controls requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley on April 13 -- affording both companies and auditors the opportunities to air their grievances on the difficulties and costs of the federal mandate. Since the 2002 passage of the sweeping corporate reform act --Section 404 of which requires a company's executives to attest to the adequacy of its internal controls -- the guidelines have been the subject of frequent complaints from firms and auditors citing the prohibitive costs in both money and time. The SEC is currently mulling a delay for internal controls compliance for both smaller and foreign-based companies, both of whom are required to be in compliance by July 15. After receiving a delay last year, larger companies -- those with a market cap of $700 million and higher -- began complying with the internal controls requirements in November.