The original name of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was the 'Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act'. The operative terms were accounting (ie financial results) and investor protection. It was not meant to be the public company punishment act.

Because capital markets are a critical component of our economy, SOX was passed so that investors/lenders could properly assess financial risk based on published results. The original intent of SOX 404 was as a cart, not a horse ie it was meant to provide additional assurances about financial statement results, not to become an end unto itself. However, as any cursory glance of these pages can attest, this is exactly what has happened.

SOX 404 is not only a waste of time and money - it's distracting businesses from focusing on innovation and efficiency, which leads to expansion, job growth and our overall economic well-being. SOX 404 needs to be revised to achieve what it was meant to in the first place: pro