A Universe Of SOX Assistance

Two years into the regulation, the issues of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, technical and otherwise, are so diverse and complex that an entire sub-industry has emerged to assist companies looking for resources, technology or just good old advice.

Most of those resources have a Web presence, so from time to time I'll point you to some of the more useful Web content. Here's three sites to check out:

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Community Forum

The Forum is an membership information portal designed to encourage information exchange and includes tips, guides, and other resources. One of the more interesting resources is a downloadable Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Toolkit, which includes stuff like guides, presentations and implementation checklists.

The Site also includes a discussion forum area with topics like SOX IT issues and the most heavily visited forum: Sarbanes-Oxley Employment, which is open to both job seekers and employers.Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal

The Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal is a subscription site, impressive for its volume of feature articles, covering a broad range of topics, from auditing, to law, finance, governance and technology. While mostly vendor-written, the assortment of technology features run the gamut from e-mail management to security and business intelligence

Securities Exchange Commission

If you have questions regarding the legislation itself, you might want to start with the SEC's Web site. In particular, the SEC's Division Of Corporate Finance provides a FAQ section which answers questions that I haven't seen asked anywhere else, but they're the kind of questions that you know others might have, too.

For example, if the same person is both the CEO and CFO, is he or she required to sign two certifications? The answer is no. Even the legislation states that the principal executive officer and principal financial officer must both certify the issuers reports, one certification will suffice as long as both titles are underneath the signature.

I'll keep posting these resource links from time to time, as I collect them, but you can certainly help in that endeavor. If you see useful, independent sites with compliance-related resources, please let me know.