Large and small corporates are taking different approaches to how they comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404, especially in th scope of their compliance programs and their use of software.
A recent survey by Parsons Consulting found that large companies (those with a market capitalisation of $1 billion or more) generally take a narrower approach to compliance, focusing primarily on financial reporting processes, while most smaller companies (those with a market capitalisation of $75 million to $1 billion) address operational controls as well.
However, larger companies are more likely to use "technology enablers" - a third of them using specific software applications compared to just 20.5% of smaller companies. Smaller companies were more likely to use employee orientation and ongoing training. Over 90 percent of all companies said they are "documenting and communicating policies and procedures" and three quarters are including those procedures in internal audit reviews.