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Sarbanes Oxley Act Research Paper

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Sarbanes Oxley Act Research Paper
Sarbanes Oxley Act
Research Project
Brielle Lewis
MBA 315
March 6, 2014

I. Abstract
The purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities law, and for other purposes. (Lander, 2004) The Act created new standards for public companies and accounting firms to abide by. After multiple business failures due to fraudulent activities and embezzlement at companies such as Enron Sarbanes and Oxley recognized a need for the revamping of our financial systems laws, rules and regulations. Thus, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was born.
II. Background/Purpose
The Sarbanes Oxley Act was signed into law on July 30, 2002 by then President George W. Bush. After major scandals involving multiple large firms embezzling funds, two Senators took on the task of revamping the financial system criteria to the laws in place currently. Senator Paul Sarbanes was a Democrat representing the state of Maryland in the United States Senate for thirty years. In 2002, he was the Senate sponsor of the Sarbanes Oxley Act which was unanimously passed 99-0 in the 100-member Senate. Michael Oxley was a Republican representing the state of Ohio in the House of Representatives, while a member Oxley served as the chairman of the Committee of Financial Services. Oxley was the House of Representatives sponsor of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which passed overwhelmingly with a 423-3 vote in 2002. After the Act was put into law both retired from their positions. (Institute, 2010)
The Sarbanes- Oxley Act was established to revitalize investor’s belief that the financial market is a sound body and uncorrupt. The Act focuses primarily on large public firms in light of failing corporate giants such as Enron, which incurred over 1.2 billion dollars in debt and had to file bankrupt. Looking deeper into the Enron scandal, the company created subsidiary organizations (that were named after Star War characters) to



Cited: Arens, A. A., Elder, R. J., & Beasley, M. S. (2013). Auditing and Assurance Services. Old Tappan, NJ: Pearson Education. Curtis C. Verschoor, C. (2012, September 05). Has Sox Been Successful? Retrieved from Accounting Web: http://www.accountingweb.com/article/has-sox-been-successful/219796 Don E Green, S. (2004). Manager 's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Improving Internal Controls to Prevent Fraud. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Institute, T. D. (2010, March 24). Those Guys! Sarbanes & Oxley . Retrieved from Sox-Online: http://www.sox-online.com/sarbanes_and_oxley.html Kadlec, D Lander, G. P. (2004). What Is Sarbanes-Oxley? New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies. Office, U. G. (2006). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 4 Years Later; What Have We Learned. Washington, DC. Retrieved from Dummies.com: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/taking-a-look-at-a-sarbanesoxley-overview.html Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404 Slaughter, J. (2012, December). The Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on American Businesses. Retrieved from Small Business Chron: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/impact-sarbanes-oxley-act-american-businesses-1547.html Sweeney, P Young, E. &. (2013, December 31). McDonald 's Corporation 10-k. Retrieved from SEC: http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000063908&owner=exclude&count=40&hidefilings=0

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