Sentiment among senior executives in the US towards the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has deteriorated since its implementation in July 2002, according to a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Only 30% of the respondents view the legislation in a favourable light, compared to 42% when the same group was surveyed in October 2002.
More worrying is news that only 68% feel confident that their company can fully comply with Sarbanes-Oxley; this figure stood at 82% in October.
"Sarbanes-Oxley has proven to be far more complex and has required companies to make many more changes in control and compliance than executives originally thought," said Ellen Masterson, global leader of audit methodology for PwC. "Consequently, more business leaders are now uncertain that their company is doing everything it should to be in compliance," she adds.
And costs are proving a growing concern for US executives. In October 2002 just under a third of respondents thought implementation of the act would be a costly process, whereas this figure stands at 60% in July.
But regardless of cost, 83% think that all companies listed in the US should adhere to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation.