SEC extension relieves pressure for some users

March 1, 2004 (Computerworld)

The Securities and Exchange Commission gave some companies a little more breathing room for their Sarbanes-Oxley compliance efforts last week.
The SEC announced that companies with a market capitalization of $75 million or greater won't have to document their internal financial-reporting controls and attest to the effectiveness of the procedures until their first fiscal year that ends on or after Nov. 15. The original deadline for Section 404 compliance had been for fiscal years that ended on June 15 or later.
That means companies with fiscal years ending on June 30 or Sept. 30 have been given one-year extensions on their compliance efforts, said Brian Goldstein, a partner at law firm Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP in Boston.
The deadline delay "definitely removed the sense of urgency" for many companies to complete their Section 404 readiness efforts, said Forrester Research analyst Jennifer Chew. "Many firms will likely continue to rely on manual processes and consultants in an effort to delay any capital expenditures," Chew added.
But for companies that operate on a calendar-year basis, the extension "doesn't buy them any more time," said Michael Duffy, president and CEO of software vendor OpenPages Inc.
Smaller companies now have to comply in fiscal years that end on or after July 15, 2005 -- a switch from the original deadline of April 15, 2005.