The Sarbanes Oxley Act ( Sox ) - 969 Words

To: New Client From: Vanda Mallo, Financial Adviser Date: November 10, 2015 Subject: Important changes in the accounting field Due to my position as your Financial Adviser, it is my duty to explain to you some important changes in the accounting field and the legislation that brought about this change. In 2002 the U.S. Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), a legislation put in place not only to improve the accuracy of corporate disclosures, but also to protect shareholders and the general public from accounting errors and fraudulent practices in all organizations. Although these organizations include corporations, small businesses, non-profit institutions, government bodies and any other entity where business is conducted,†¦show more content†¦This very important government agency, which consists of five commissioners from different political parties, not only oversees the SOX but also sets deadlines for compliance. Compliance is the most important change created by SOX to the accounting field, because it requires that all accounting be â€Å"in accordance with established guidelines or specifications, or the process of becoming so†. (Rouse, 2014) Compliance also means that rules established by industry regulations and government legislation are followed and honored by an organization, such as storing and retaining business records in IT systems, therefore to be in line with SOX, we principles and assumptions of accounting have been affected, such as the content and preparation of disclosure documents by public companies. I can assure you that we accept and abide by the regulations and guidelines put in place by SOX. Since compliance became our top priority, we utilize specific compliance software and IT compliance consultants, and along with our chief compliance officer (CCO), we will continue to serve our clients within these accounting compliance requirements. Business Ethics are believed to be the â€Å"study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial issues, such as corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination,