Key Characteristics Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act

According to Bok and Larmer (2012), “whistle-blower is a nearly mythical character- the brace, lonely person who exposes evil in the corporate or government bureaucracy” (p. 174). The question is whether blowing the whistle violates company loyalty or not. Bok, who asserts that loyalty is acting in a way that the company believes is in their best interests. However, Larmer argues that loyalty is acting in a way that reflects what one believes to be in the company’s best interests. This paper argues against Bok’s side by providing examples, scenarios, and research. The presupposition that whistle blowing does not violate company loyalty is true because one should do what is right for the public interest and oneself since the company is being

Review “Just pucker and blow: An analysis of corporate whistleblowers” in Chapter 2. Please respond to the following:

The Sarbanes Oxley Act is an act passed by the United States Congress to protect investors from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporation. The Sarbanes Oxley Act has strict reforms to improve financial disclosures from corporations and accounting fraud. The acts goals are designed to ensure that publicly traded corporations document what financial controls they are using and they are certified in doing so. The Sarbanes Oxley Act sets the highest level and most general requirements but it imposes the possibility of criminal penalties for corporate financial officers. The Sarbanes Oxley Act sets provisions that are used throughout numerous amounts of corporations. It holds companies to a larger responsibility and a higher standard with accounting principles and the accuracy of financial statements.

The Dodd- Frank law on whistle-blowing bounty program is an upgrade from the Sarbanes- Oxley. The Sarbanes – Oxley whistle -blower program protected employees from getting retaliated upon by their employers when they report misconduct within the company they are employed. Dodd- Frank law took is a step further, an employee who reports financial misconduct are entitled to receive 10 percent to 30 percent of the fines and settlements if the conviction is upheld and the penalties exceed $1 million dollars (Ferrell, 112, 2013). The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by President Obama in 2010 (Ferrell, pg. 110, 2013). The focal mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is to make markets for

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a preventative measure passed by congress which protects investors from corporate fraud. Company loans were banned to executives and provided job protection to whistleblowers. Financial-literacy of corporate boards and independence are strengthen by the act. Errors in accounting audits are now the responsibly of the CEO’s. Sponsors to the act were Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Congressman Michael Oxley (R-OH) who the Act is named after.

The various forms of retribution that whistle-blowers endure at the hands of employers both financially and psychologically for attempting to correct mismanagement, fraud, and dishonesty are often too much for the whistle-blower to bear. Careers are in jeopardy because individuals with strong ethics decide to pursue law suits against their employers. One example is where the US Forest Service employees found their careers ruined by either demotions or loss of jobs when caught speaking out in favor of the environment or sound science, or when

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, is an act passed by U.S. Congress on July 30, 2002. The primary reason was to protect investors from the possibility of fraudulent accounting activities by corporations. The act is commonly known as SOX Act. The act is named after its cosponsors, U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes and U.S. Representative Michael G. Oxley. It mandates strict reforms to improve financial disclosures from corporations and prevent accounting fraud. The Sarbanes Oxley Act is arranged into eleven titles. They are Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), Auditor Independence, Corporate Responsibility, Enhanced Financial Disclosures, Analyst Conflicts of Interest, Commission Resources and Authority, White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement, Corporate Tax Returns, and Corporate Fraud Accountability. These titles provide the description of specific requirements and mandates for the financial reporting. The SOX Act monitors compliance through various sections. However, the most significant sections are 302 (Disclosure controls), 401 (Disclosures in periodic reports), 404 (Assessment of internal control), 802 (Criminal penalties for influencing US Agency investigation/proper administration). As a result of SOX Act, the top management must individually certify the accuracy of financial information. The Act increased the oversight role of board of directors and the independence of the outside

HealthSouth Corporation (HRC) is a publically traded healthcare company on the NASDAQ. In 2001 HealthSouth stocks were valued at $15.12 per share and net income was reported to be $393,600,000. For all intents and purposes the company was sound. Until, whistle blower and CFO, Winston Smith, shared with authorities the unethical accounting practices allegedly forced upon him by the company’s CEO, Richard Scrushy. According to the Security and Exchange Commission’s complaint, “since 1999, at the insistence of Scrushy, the HealthSouth Corporation systematically over stated its earnings by at least $1.4 billion in order to meet or exceed Wall Street earnings expectations” ("SEC vs. HealthSouth," 2003). It should be stated that healthcare

Senator Paul Sarbanes and Representative Michael Oxley created the act to keep businesses from producing false financial documents just to get investors to invest into the company because it appears that the business is doing very well. Companies like Enron under this new act couldn’t produce the false accounting statements without first having an auditor coming in and checking over the inventories or book keeping data. Now investors can relax a little more and not worry that the financial statements are falsified or are generalized and rounded up to make the company look good. Investors can trust that the auditors are doing their job and verifying the books and data for those companies.

A vital part of business today is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It was created to protect the integrity of business and the interest of consumers and investors. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act enforces the monitoring of finance data and information technology as it relates to storage of information. It requires the audit of a company’s assets, accounting and finance. The act requires certifications by top company officials’ to guarantee that data submitted is true and accurate. Monitoring to ensure compliance is performed by audits. Falsification of data or non-compliance to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act can results to in penalties of fines and/or imprisonment.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, also known as SOX, was enacted in response to several corporate and accounting scandals with the goal of restoring investor confidence in the financial statements of public companies. It is a U.S. federal law covering such issues as auditor independence, corporate governance, evaluation of internal controls and greater financial disclosure. SOX also set new or expanded requirements for the board of all public companies, management or public accounting firms in the U.S. It outlines the obligations of the board of directors for public companies, adds criminal penalties for certain transgressions and required the Securities and Exchange Commission to establish regulations to specify how corporations will conform

Whistle blowing is the act of an employee exposing a company’s misconduct, illegal activity, or threats to the public. Whistle blowing is protected under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) act of 2002 section 806. There are two different types of whistleblowing, internal and external. Internal is when an employee discovers misconduct and reports it to a supervisor or executive to handle the issue. External whistleblowing is when an employee reports a company’s misconduct to external parties such as law enforcement or media. O’Brien had to complete both types of whistleblowing. When he reported it to Amgen’s upper management and no action was taken, he then sought out legal representation to discuss the issue and his wrongful termination.

A whistleblower is described as a person who reports serious misconducts and threats to the public. The key characteristics of a whistleblower include but are not limited to the ones listed below: (1) unselfishly motivated, (2) a utilitarian-practical, (3) uninterested in changing their professional behavior, (4) allows their own attitudes and beliefs to guide them and are (5) well educated and hold professional positions within the corporation.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted in July 30, 2002, by Congress to protect shareholders and the general public from fraudulent corporate practices and accounting errors and to maintain auditor independence.   In protecting the shareholders and the general public the SOX Act is intended to improve the transparency of the financial reporting.   Financial reports are to be certified by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) creating increased responsibility and independence with auditing by independent audit firms. In discussing the SOX Act, we will focus on how this act affects the CEOs; CFOs; outside independent audit firms; the advantages and a

The whistleblower him or herself must be carefully scrutinized. What are the personal and the professional reputations of the whistleblower? What is the motive driving the whistleblower? Is it to benefit the client or the organization, or is it a need for attention or revenge? Is the whistleblower's cause seen as legitimate and significant by trustworthy colleagues and friends? Is the whistleblower aware of the potential consequences of blowing the whistle and still willing to accept responsibility for actions taken?