Chairman Cox Proposes Additional SOX 404(b) Delay
 
January 14, 2008
 

On December 12, 2007, Chairman Cox testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business that he intends to propose a further one-year delay in the implementation by non-accelerated filers of the audit firm attestation under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Under Cox’s proposal, non-accelerated filers would be required to begin compliance with Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2009, as opposed to the current requirement that they begin compliance for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2008. Cox’s proposal is motivated by the desire that non-accelerated filers should enjoy the benefit of the results of the SEC study on the costs and benefits of 404 compliance under the new auditing standard and management guidance prior to complying with Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley. The results of this study are expected to be available no earlier than June 2008.

http://www.sec.gov/news/testimony/2007/ts121207cc.htm