The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: A Bird's-Eye View

Abstract

It is the goal of this article to provide a brief reference to the multitude of changes in the law wrought by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). The author’s hope is that this will be of use to students, scholars, and practitioners seeking an overview of the extensive changes resulting from this legislation. The discussion is broader than it is deep; indeed, a work attempting to examine SOX in depth would soon become a treatise and not just an article. The remainder of this article, then, will seek to provide a big-picture view of SOX: Part II of this article will address SOX regulation of professionals, including accountants, lawyers, and securities analysts. Part III will address SOX’s attempts to enhance corporate disclosure. Part IV will examine SOX’s efforts to reform corporate governance. Part V will examine SOX’s provisions dealing with enforcement of the law. Finally, Part VI will provide a brief conclusion.

Keywords: Sarbanes-Oxley Act, SOX, regulation of professionals, corporate disclosure, corporate governance reforms, corporate regulation, administrative law, securities, choice of entity, regulatory law