Assuming that you are the controller for a publicly traded company, your CFO has asked you to prepare a presentation for the accounting department personnel and the public auditors about the importance of the SOX Act and the requirements and responsibilities that the Act establishes for the auditors in charge of an annual audit. After the presentation, the CFO wants all accounting personnel and public accounting auditors to understand the regulations and guidelines established by the SOX Act and also for you to provide recommendations as to how the Act's principles can be improved to make American corporations more ethically responsible.
Prepare a Power Point presentation of at least 20 slides that includes the following:
- Assess the provision of the Sox Act that requires the establishment of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the measures that public accounting firms are taking to ensure that they maintain their independence in all audit assignments, including the mechanisms they are establishing to ensure that the necessary independence and integrity are prevalent in all aspects of their relationship with their clients.
- Analyze how executives of corporate America have embraced the new regulations and requirements of the Sox Act while maintaining their purpose to produce a profit for investors and staying in compliance of the new rules in the industry. Explain what those new requirements are for the CEO and CFO of publicly traded companies.
- Describe your assessment of the responsibilities established for accounting personnel-including protection for whistle-blowers-and for the public accounting auditors.
- Determine how the responsibilities of the board of directors audit committee have changed due to the Sox Act in overseeing the financial reporting process and to hire and be in charge of the independent auditors.
- Provide recommended sanctions to be imposed on those who do not comply with the SOX Act provisions, and whether or not the sanctions should be stiffened or should include other personnel in the organization.