Is there any way (classes/seminars) one can study Sarbanes Oxley Act which seems to have become a very important issue for any accountant wanting a middle or senior level position in North America? I would like to study it, even if it means paying for classes/seminars.

Can anyone suggest the best way to go for it? Also, where can I get a commentary on this act which I could read and get the basics?

Chandresh

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Chandresh

I find the AICPA website to be a great source of current info on SOX.

http://www.aicpa.org/info/sarbanes_oxley_summary.htm

The attached link will give you a summary of the act. There are also various presentations that are available on the website.

Also link to the big-4 websites. Their newsletters tend to have a lot of information on SOX implementation, including practical issues being faced by people. Their newsletters would also provide you with a lot of info on current accounting issues being faced and developments in GAAP.

Hope this helps.

I am not aware of any classes/courses that are being conducted. I am not really sure how much value they are going to add to the individual and more importantly how you will be recovering the cost of your investment. The reason I am being cynical about class room concept is because Sarbanes Oxley is not like an ERP implementation. The Big 4 firms and other boutique consultancy companies have already mapped out their approach to achieving compliance. Having said that, it's too early to tell what is best practice or not. The biggest test is going to be Jan 2005 since most SEC registered companies have Dec 31 as their year end dates.

The best way to understand about Sarbanes Oxley is to go through it in a chronological order - at least it made sense to me because the Act came first, then the rules were framed and more interpretations, etc., from SEC.

Adding to what crenshaw has already said, a few more websites:

Attached is a link from PwC - the white papers are quite useful. There is a Sarbanes Oxley page which has more data

http://www.pwc.com/Extweb/NewCoAtWork.nsf/docid/CEF1F5BE1EDE886C85256CF30074EFB4

Also, another website which can be helpful is :
http://www.cfodirect.com/
Look under Corporate Governance tab on the left hand side and you have quite a few articles.

Yet another is http://www.theiia.org/
(this is the Institute of Internal Auditors website)

As an Accountant I have nothing but respect for SO because it is actually an employment creation Act for the Accountants .

Regards
Daks

As a Oracle Financials consultant I know that SOX is a big PITA for us as they keep asking for documents and more documents... but.. not sure where to learn it from..

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Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.

Thanks Crenshaw and Daks for your inputs - initially I had thought of writing your names on my first post, but I knew for sure that you two would be the first to reply!

Acually, I had seen some of the web-sites mentioned by you, specially the aicpa and pwc ones. While I do not deny their usefulness, I tend to understand things better when written in simple language. I could have read the whole act, but somehow, I am not that kind of a guy. To me, a class of 2 hrs is much more educative than actual Act study of 5 hrs - it has always been my case.

I will read the white pages, but I think that they are written from point of view of an auditor and their responsibilities. Another thing that I could find is a forum site where people contribute their experiences/enquiries. this site also offers a tool-kit for compliance, which I am sure can be very useful to a person working in a commercial organisation and responsible for step by step compliance of requirements. However, I was wondering if there is any commentary available which explains things in a general manner, so that if I get an interview for a job (whether in a consulting firm or a commercial organisation), I can confidently talk with the knowledge of the act.

Infact, one resource I could think of is the study material of CPA prepared by let's say Beckers. Is any member, or anyone you know pursuing CPA and preparing with Beckers. He could give me a copy of the chapter on SOX and that would be what I am really interested in.

Chandresh

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Also try http://www.sarbanes-oxley.com Do a Google search, you will find quite a lot of info from different perspectives. Use the keywords for the perspective you are looking for.

This site has the summary.....

http://www.legalzoom.com/articles/article_content/article5470.html