SOX survey deadline extended by SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Economic Analysis has extended the deadline for public companies to participate in a web-based survey about the costs and benefits of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The previous deadline of Jan. 16 has been extended to Jan. 31 in the hope that more companies will participate to “improve the information and insight to be gained from the study,” Cindy Alexander, assistant chief economist at the SEC, said in a statement. Subsection 404(b) requires that a company conducts an independent audit of its internal controls over financial reporting, in addition to the internal management assessment of ICFR required under Subsection 404(a). More than 2,000 companies have already completed the voluntary survey, which is open to any company with Section 404 compliance experience in the United States and globally. The survey will help inform the SEC’s cost-benefit study of Section 404 implementation with a focus on the consequences for smaller companies, the regulator said in the statement. The survey is being conducted among all registered corporations, with special attention on smaller companies that are scheduled to begin complying with Section 404(b) requirements at the end of this year. More information about the 404 survey project can be found here. For answers to specific questions, The SEC invites inquiries via e-mail, 404survey@sec.gov, or by phone, (877) 737-5782.