End of the affair (TT JulAug07 31-33)

Since Sarbanes-Oxley was introduced in 2002 to curb the corporate excesses of the Enron era, its requirements have sparked a chorus of complaints. The main bone of contention lies in its requirement on company management to assess and document the effectiveness of internal controls for financial reporting. The SEC is set to replace the rule-based regime with more of a risk-based regime, but in the meantime many of the 1,145 foreign companies listed in the US are checking out.