One of the lessons learned from the corporate reporting failures of recent years is that a narrow view of regulatory compliance was partly to blame. A further lesson learned was this: Compliance needs to be viewed as a natural extension of the governance duties shouldered by top management and corporate boards. Indeed, compliance is a governance matter in that only a company’s leaders are in a position to set the tone and establish the accountabilities by which a truly effective compliance function can operate. Case in point: Sarbanes-Oxley.
Overnight it seems, Sarbanes-Oxley reforms have turned audit committees into fierce critics of entrenched corporate interests. At the same time, the Act has taken direct aim at the c-suite with tough new rules that call for increased accountability from top company executives. The changes brought by SARBOX don’t stop there. Corporate disclosure, compliance oversight, controls monitoring, company training, and — oh yes, the practice of public accounting — all come under the fierce gaze of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Clearly, the Act’s reforms are far-reaching. Most metals companies, however, face an immediate — and in some cases, grave — compliance concern related to SARBOX rule 404. That rule requires management to assess the effectiveness of the company’s internal controls over financial reporting and include its findings in the company’s annual report to shareholders. Based on recent PwC research conducted with Sarbanes-Oxley project leaders at 120 major companies, there is ample reason for concern. Fully three-quarters of those project leaders report that their original estimates as to the effort required to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley 404 have significantly underestimated the mark.
How PricewaterhouseCoopers can help you
For all SEC registered metal companies — whether subsidiaries of US domestic registrants or foreign private investors — that need to comply with the requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, PwC provides a range of services. Our advisory services include project management, technical support, risk assessment and scoping activities, assistance in documentation and evaluation, training, quality assurance and review. For non-audit clients, PwC can also provide direct assistance in the evaluation and remediation of controls.
