Recent remarks of SEC Chief Accountant
07 Jun 2005
US SEC Chief Accountant Donald T.
- Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act – internal controls
- Reducing the complexity of financial reporting
- Expected issuance before 30 June 2005 of the 'off-balance sheet report' required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
We are now very close to completing the last significant report required of the OCA staff by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the so-called 'off-balance sheet report'. We plan to issue that report, addressed to Congress and to the President, later this month. Our work on that report, combined with my prior experiences, confirms for me the need to reduce complexity while at the same time improve both the transparency and usefulness of financial reporting for investors. The report also directly addresses a number of long contentious issues, both on and off-balance sheet, where our current accounting models are sometimes complex and where improvements appear necessary. In addition it describes structured transactions and identifies steps companies can take now to improve the transparency of reporting. |