SEC SEC Chairman Christopher Cox Confirms Agency's Intent to Reform Sarbanes-Oxley at NVTC/Financial Executives International Event This Morning
Chairman Cox Reaffirms SEC Will Offer Proposed Changes to Section 404 of the Act This MonthHERNDON, VA, Dec. 6, 2006 - During an address before 250 Northern Virginia technology executives in McLean, Va. this morning, Christopher Cox, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reaffirmed the Agency's commitment to revising the Sarbanes-Oxley Act-specifically reform of Section 404 of the law. This event was hosted by the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) CFO Series Committee and Financial Executives International.
"The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the SEC are working together to completely revise-indeed repeal-the accounting standard that was initially issued under Section 404 and replace it with a system that is top down, risk based and focuses on the jugular not the capillary: to make sure that what we have a strong sense of what is material and what is really related to the financial statements," Chairman Cox told the technology executives.
It is expected that the SEC will issue its new guidance next week and that the Oversight Board will do so a week later.
In addition to discussing the proposed changes to Sarbanes-Oxley, Chairman Cox spoke about the SEC's commitment to providing investors and financial analysts with interactive, easily accessible and usable data via a soon-to-be overhauled Agency Web site that serves as the public gateway to EDGAR-the SEC's financial database. The SEC is investing more than $50 million in this effort and the new Web site is expected to be unveiled in six months, according to Chairman Cox. He also demonstrated some of the software, already created by the private sector, that will allow investors to "unlock the potential of interactive data" to be available on the new SEC Web site. These products will revolutionize the ability for investors to analyze financial data by making the process more efficient and user friendly with comparative and customized reports.
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