Jefferson Wells, a global provider of risk, control, compliance and financial process improvement today warned UK companies not to become over-complacent about Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx) compliance, after news that the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) would extend the deadline by up to five months was announced.
?UK companies who are in the midst of compliance will no doubt be relieved at the extended deadline, as the grip of corporate governance temporarily slackens. But while the five month respite may seem like an opportunity to lessen the pace and possibly re-deploy valuable resources elsewhere - this is not the case,? says Mike Nelson, Managing Director of the London office.
?There is still considerable complacency amongst UK businesses about the far-reaching nature of SOX and a combination of ignorance and confusion regarding the level of time, cost and commitment that compliance requires. This, combined with ?distractions' such as IFRS and the Turnbull report, make it increasingly likely that this additional time will be ?eaten up' by non-SOX issues.
?SOX compliance is not an isolated task. Nor is it about ticking boxes before filing SOX away. Instead it is the beginning of a holistic and ongoing process of self-assessment, monitoring, improvement and ultimately buy-in from the board.