NYT: Panel to Propose Exceptions to Governance Rules

[Rose Siding]

An influential advisory committee appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission is about to formally propose that thousands of smaller companies be exempted from significant parts of the four-year-old law that imposed significant new auditing rules on corporate America.

But the advisory committee's leader, Herbert S. Wander, has had his own recent experience with audit problems. He has served for many years on the board and on the audit committee of a publicly traded company that in recent months has disclosed a steady stream of significant accounting lapses.

Emboldened by what they hope is a changing climate in Washington, businesses have embarked on a multifront assault on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was adopted in 2002 after the scandals at Enron, WorldCom and other companies. They have sued the government to have the law stricken, challenged various provisions and lobbied lawmakers and the commission to water down others.

The most controversial recommendation by the advisory committee would exempt four out of five public companies from the provision that requires companies to review their financial reporting procedures and fix any problems that could lead to mistakes or fraud.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/business/19secure.html?hp&ex=1145505600&en=942cc70561344c78&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[rodeodance]

1. so, they actually resist and make public that they don't want to fix

any problems? geesh. I give up.


...The most controversial recommendation by the advisory committee would exempt four out of five public companies from the provision that requires companies to review their financial reporting procedures and fix any problems that could lead to mistakes or fraud.

[salin]

2. because we all know that preventing fraud in publically traded

companies is such an evil and awful thing.

Watch the specifics.. will be touted as helping 'small firms' for which the rules are to onerous - but the definition will probably allow very, very big companies to fit the bill for exemption.

What the heck, we all know that all of the corporations have voluntarily self-corrected any and all problems since the major corporate implosions of 2002... (if needed: :sarcasm: )