The first in an occasional series on how to get involved with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Sarbanes-Oxley is for American companies

When looking to work in the area of Sarbanes-Oxley the most important thing to remember is that it applies mainly to US companies.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 is legislation passed in the wake of the WorldCom and Enron scandals. The aim is to improve the financial reporting of public companies listed in the US.

One route therefore into Sarbanes-Oxley territory is to work for any one of the listed companies. You will of course need to have some connection with financial reporting.

The most contentious of the Acts requirements is Section 404. Under 404 companies are to make a declaration that internal controls for reporting are robust enough to be trusted.

The internal controls checked for 404 may be in place in countries outside the US, possibly as foreign subsidiaries. Therefore as long as the company has a US listing the Acts requirements still apply.

There are opportunities for working in UK companies to get a job with Sarbanes-Oxley.

UK companies with a US listing such as BP are also subject to Sarbanes Oxley.