The Joy of SOX: Why Sarbanes-Oxley and Services Oriented Architecture May Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You

Product Description

• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed in 2002 in response to a series of high-profile corporate scandals and requires that public companies implement internal controls over financial reporting, operations, and assets; these controls depend heavily on installing or improving information technology and business methods
• Written by one of the most visible personalities on the tech-biz side of the SOX discussion, this highly readable, engaging book provides a clear road map for integrating SOX compliance into the fabric of everyday IT infrastructure and business practice
• Shows the reader how to leverage and use service-oriented architecture (SOA), a set of technologies that enables interoperation of heterogeneous computer systems, to achieve the level of internal controls over IT that SOX mandates

Order from Amazon TODAY —> The Joy of SOX: Why Sarbanes-Oxley and Services Oriented Architecture May Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You

Outsourcing Sox ? Best Options

 SOX – An Overview

It is mandatory for all US public companies to adhere to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) introduced in the country in July 2002. The primary objective of the Act is to regulate financial practice and corporate governance and restore investor confidence in response to major financial scandals involving Enron, WorldCom and others. But public companies are already grumbling about the costs of abiding with the Act’s requirements.

The Japanese government similarly, promulgated a law in June 2006, known as J-SOX in order to prevent accounting frauds by public companies and to safeguard investor interest. This will be in force for all fiscal years starting from April 1, 2008. Drawn up on the same lines as the US-SOX, companies listed in Japan and operating in other countries as subsidiary companies have to adhere to J-SOX compliance.

Weighty Regulations

The most contentious part of SOX is Section 404, which requires management and the external auditor to report on the adequacy of the company’s internal control over financial reporting (ICFR). This is the most expensive aspect of the legislation for companies to implement, as tremendous effort goes into documenting and testing important financial, manual and automated controls. Additionally, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all business records, including electronic records and electronic messages, must be saved for “not less than five years.”

The penalty for non-compliance is fines, imprisonment or both. The legislation not only affects the financial side of companies but also the IT departments which are responsible for storing a company’s electronic records. Accounting and IT must work hand in hand to achieve the best possible accuracy in the implementation of SOX. Expectedly, the additional compliance costs and the increased paperwork that have come with the legislation have put companies in a tizzy.

Outsourcing – the Key

Both US SOX and J SOX involve documentation of all business activities of a company. It involves defining processes, mapping and identifying risks and controls. Fulfilling this daunting task involves diverting scarce corporate resources. The sensible option in such a scenario is to outsource these mandatory processes in order to ensure compliance in a cost effective manner and to free up resources to focus on other aspects of business.

Outsourcing companies particularly from India have jumped on to the Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) bandwagon with SOX compliance related work garnering a major share in the outsourced processes. While significant cost savings is the key driver to consider India as a preferred outsourcing destination, there is no disputing the fact that companies benefit from the huge English speaking work force with superior financial and technology skills.

Udyen Jain and Associates (UJA) is an India based company of highly experienced Chartered Accountants bringing with them professional expertise and cross-disciplinary skills to the assignments they handle.

UJA is an experienced player handling ongoing SOX and J-SOX projects for clients in the US and Japan. As a part of their off shore solutions, UJA offers back office and internal audit services for SOX compliance – streamlining and automating the complex process to employ best practices to fulfill SOX regulations. Mr. Udyen Jain, founder of the company states “At Udyen Jain & Associates, our endeavor is to become your business partner and not just an offshore vendor. It makes complete business sense to offshore your firm’s internal compliance related procedures to our experienced team of financial and legal experts who will facilitate the setting up of secure, ongoing procedures and controls to meet your firm’s requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.”

A broad description of services under SOX performed by the UJA Audit team:

End to End Process Mapping (including documentation of process narratives and flow charts)

Risk Assessment based on a well defined Risk Control Matrix (RCM)

Process Walkthroughs

Test of Design & Operating Effectiveness Assessment

Spread Sheet Control Assessment

Segregation of Duty (SOD)

Gap Reporting

Remediation of Gap

Sustaining Compliance with Automation

UJA’s technical partner Leo Manage, a division of Leo Technosoft, offers efficient, cost-effective automated processes that help in mitigating risks and ensures compliance with financial regulations. Documentation of financial controls is best met by using workflow management software and enterprise planning solutions that will help companies breeze through SOX audits. Leo Manage offers a range of solutions in this category that are simple to use and easy to install.

Automating the internal audit process ensures the accuracy and consistency of financial procedures. Leo Manage’s technology driven solutions help automate everything from file transfer to document retrieval. Leo’s product offerings connect all SOX processes on a single platform making it easy to access records from any location.

Advanced tracking and reporting capability streamlines a company’s SOX requirements and permits continuous monitoring, all of which helps increase confidence within the company and among the auditors. SOX compliance history is always accessible. Emergency fixes are automatically documented and reconciled for easier audit.

Mea Manage provides integrated solutions which make it more cost-effective and easier to implement than expensive stand-alone products.

Fool-proof Security Practices

The process of taking over the parent company’s bookkeeping, accounting and tax return activities is seamlessly accomplished in a systematic manner to a fully secure and protected environment. UJA’s team synchronizes the client firm’s compliance requirements by setting up robust internal controls and processes from their offshore site at a fraction of the cost. Companies can thus meet the challenges of compliance upfront and take home significant cost savings.

Mr. Satyen Jain, Managing Director, Leo Technosoft emphasizes that outsourced back office operations are in good hands due to “an unshakable wall of physical, network, data and desktop security around the financial processes.”

For further details on how outsourcing can help you with easier SOX compliance, please contact satyen@leosys.in

49 Steps to Implement Sarbanes-Oxley Best Practices In Private and Nonprofit Health Care Entities

Product Description
49 Steps to Implement Sarbanes-Oxley Best Practices in Private and Nonprofit Health Care Entities identifies and describes steps you can take to adopt what have become consensus best practice standards.

This book and companion CD – with customizable templates – provides how-to assistance on:
-Ensuring adequate oversight,
-Eliminating potential auditor conflicts,
-Achieving better accountability and accuracy of financial documentation,
-Establishing procedures for complaints,
-And more.

Table of Contents
Overview of Sarbanes-Oxley
Relevance to Private & Nonprofit Entities
Getting Started
#1 Conduct a gap analysis
#2 Gain written agreement on policy development & implementation
Corporate Governance
#3 Establish a committee to oversee implementation
#4 Establish a compliance or governance officer function
#5 Define the compliance officer position
Board of Directors – Structure
#6 Develop job description for Board members
#7 Develop an orientation & education policy
#8 Create a Governance Committee
Board of Directors – Independence
#9 Define independence
#10 Prohibit credit arrangements
Board Audit Committee
#11 Establish & charter an Audit Committee
#12 Develop operating policies & procedures
#13 Consider melding Act oversight with general compliance oversight
#14 Establish composition & meetings
#15 Establish & define relationship between Audit Committee & management
#16 Mandate & define that a member of the Audit Committee is a financial expert
#17 Establish the oversight and qualifications process
#18 Define how to provide oversight
#19 Require preapproval of all audit firm services
Auditor Independence
#20 Prohibit firm performing audit services from non-audit services
#21 Prohibit auditor from providing audit services for more than 5 consecutive fiscal years
#22 Require auditors to report several items
Conflicts of Interest
#23 Prohibit any coercion, manipulation, or misleading of auditor
#24 Establish conflicts-of-interest policy
#25 Ensure no additional compensation related to the engagement
#26 Prohibit a financial audit organization from performing audit services if key officers participated in the audit during the prior year
Code of Business Ethics & Conduct
#27 Establish an approval policy for workplace conduct guidelines
#28 Develop a Code of Business Ethics
#29 Include a commitment to compliance
#30 Establish a training program
Ethical Conduct: Reporting & Investigations
#31 Establish a Hotline
#32 Create an affirmative duty to report potential violations
#33 Permit employees & agents to seek guidance
#34 Prohibit retaliation
#35 Develop & implement written guidelines for whistleblower investigations
#36 Establish a records management, retention & destruction policy
Financial Reporting & Disclosures
#37 Mandate certifications for annual reports
#38 Develop financial report certification forms
#39 Establish a disclosure committee
#40 Define disclosure policy
#41 Develop a financial records management program
#42 Ensure accurate retention of records
#43 Establish an internal control testing process
#44 Establish a process for annual internal control reports
#45 Define affirmative duties for reporting potential violations
Auditing & Monitoring
#46 Establish a risk assessment process & work plan
#47 Establish an ongoing auditing & monitoring program
#48 Develop a fraud & abuse policy
#49 Establish an audit follow-up & resolution process
Appendices

Includes 50 templates.

Order from Amazon TODAY —> 49 Steps to Implement Sarbanes-Oxley Best Practices In Private and Nonprofit Health Care Entities

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Tampa Bay Business Journal Names Peak 10 a 2010 Best Place to Work

Tampa Bay Business Journal Names Peak 10 a 2010 Best Place to Work
TAMPA – Peak 10 Inc., a managed services company with world-class data centers , is proud to announce that its Tampa location has been named a to Work by the Tampa Bay Business Journal . An award celebration luncheon will be held today to recognize the top three ranking companies in each category as well as announce the overall to Work for 2010. The luncheon is hosted by the Tampa Bay Business …

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