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Sarbanes-Oxley Act Essay

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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a legislative act that is considered the most sweeping piece of legislation in accounting governance since the Securities Act of 1934. This relatively new act changed the way companies reported their financial information, created a way for investors to trust companies again after a large scandal, and affects management incentive plans to prevent further acts of fraud. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX as it is commonly abbreviated to, was a reaction to a major corporate and accounting scandal; the most recognizable of those companies included in the scandal were Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia Peregrine Systems, and WorldCom. In Enron’s example, they used loopholes to hide billions of dollars in debt that the company had incurred through failed deals and projects. The falsified financial documents convinced investors that nothing was astray and even increased the company’s stock price. Once the fraud was found, the investors sued Enron when their stock price dropped to less than one …show more content…
Title III dictates that senior executives must take individual responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of corporate financial reports, meaning that the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer are responsible for the integrity of the company’s financial reports. This particular title affects how employers formulate their incentive plans for executives. This higher level of responsibility requires that CEOs and CFOs repay any bonuses, incentives, or equity-based compensation received from the company during the 12-month period following the issuance of a financial statement that the company must restate due to material noncompliance with a financial reporting requirement stemming from misconduct. In short, if the financial documents that are published to the investors are noncompliant, the executives held responsible—the CFO and CEO—must repay back all their incentives for that

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