Recent Industry Headlines

Here are the recent headlines (and links) we felt newsworthy:

FEI Survey: Management Drives Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Costs Down by 23%, But Auditor Fees Virtually Unchanged  - In its sixth Sarbanes-Oxley compliance survey, trade association Financial Executives International found that Section 404 compliance cost Corporate America less in year three of adoption than in each of the first two years. To get a copy of the survey, click here.

SEC to finalize Sarbanes-Oxley tweaks - U.S. securities regulators will vote on tweaks to the controversial Sarbanes-Oxley law on Wednesday, finalizing changes initially approved in April amid continuing complaints from businesses about the law’s unpopular accounting provision.

Sarbanes-Oxley not dissuading foreign listings-survey - Tough U.S. accounting laws enacted to combat fraud after the Enron scandal have not discouraged firms from listing on U.S. stock markets, although there has been an overall decline in the number of new listings, according to an independent survey.

UPDATE 1-US Treasury’s Paulson to unveil markets initiatives - Although some sections of Sarbanes-Oxley have been criticized for helping to drive stock listings to U.S. exchanges, Paulson has said administrative changes are in the works that would ease such burdens.

SEC to Focus on Returning Investor Funds - Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said he has ordered the creation of a new office that will work full-time to return funds to investors harmed by stock fraud.

Is Your Ethics Program Working? - Ethical behavior, honesty and integrity are issues that senior executives routinely identify as top priorities on their companies’ agendas. But the mere presence of codes of conduct, compliance training and publicized reporting systems does not ensure a company has eliminated an environment that allows or encourages unethical misconduct.

Markets regulator under pressure on all fronts - In the coming weeks, the US Securities and Exchange Commission must decide on a series of critical issues worth billions of dollars, such as how far to cut accounting rules and whether it should side with investment banks or shareholders in a Supreme Court case.

PCAOB sets vote on AS 5

 

SOX Section 404 audits will be guided by principles instead of rules

http://www.itcinstitute.com/info.aspx?id=38863

TJX data breach cost is $17 MM and rising

 

Possible litigation and fines are not included

http://www.itcinstitute.com/info.aspx?id=38864

Band of five form Information Security Management Maturity Model Consortium

 

ISM3 seeks "achievable security" and meshes with other management systems

http://www.itcinstitute.com/info.aspx?id=38865

Financial fraud takes teamwork, study finds

 

Conspiracy gang often led by the C-level execs, general counsel, and the auditors

http://www.itcinstitute.com/info.aspx?id=38866

IBM suffers a data breach

 

Unencrypted tapes went missing while being transported on a contractor’s truck

http://www.itcinstitute.com/info.aspx?id=38867

Regulation Watch

 

IRS removes obstacle to sharing electronic healthcare records

 

Nonprofit hospitals can share their systems without jeopardizing their status

http://www.itcinstitute.com/info.aspx?id=38868

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