Say Goodbye To SOX

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the landmark 2002 legislation that established strict financial accounting and reporting mandates for public companies and launched an industry of its own, is due for a tune-up.

The cards are now on the table. Just last week, Vice President Dick Cheney added his voice to the crowd of detractors, saying that Sarbanes-Oxley, or SOX, had gone too far.

Cheney's comments came just about a week after Alan Greenspan told a crowd of technologists in Massachusetts that SOX was causing more trouble than it is worth and needs to be overhauled.

Even New York gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzerthe New York attorney general who made a name for himself fighting corruption on Wall Street in the post-Enron dayshas said that SOX needs to be rewritten.

As if Cheney, Greenspan and Spitzer weren't enough, guess who is retiring at the end of their terms this year? Yep. Sen. Paul Sarbanes of Maryland and Rep. Michael Oxley of Ohio.

So you see where I'm going with this. With its two biggest defenders on the way out and some rather big names supporting change, the SOX legislation as it stands now is destined for the history books.

Is that good or bad for the channel? It's up in the air. Whether you agree or disagree with Cheney, Greenspan and Spitzer, SOX generated business for solution providers. Some jumped into the compliance consulting game. Some built the solutions based on SOX-compliance consultants' recommendations. But the business stemmed from the law, and many solution providers built profitable practices as a result.

What replaces SOX is up to the next Congress. Once the election and the requisite politicking is over and the newly elected representatives are in Washington, they will likely turn their attention to the matter.

And solution providers should be there with their opinions. Did SOX go too far? What should replace it? How will the changes affect your business? Let me know. But tell your representatives in Congress, too.

What should happen to SOX? Let me know what you think at (415) 947-6229 or via e-mail at [email protected]