Sarbanes-Oxley Has Its Cake and Eats It, Too
It's a practical financial control for some and a nagging moral compass for others, but no matter what approach businesses take, Sarbanes-Oxley has played an undeniably
significant role in corporate governance and IR practices in recent years. Just last week (July 30), the legislation that was passed almost unanimously in reaction to widespread
fraudulent accounting practices reached its four-year anniversary, but it wasn't a celebratory milestone for many. Among the dissenters: Mallory Factor - chairman of the Free
Enterprise Fund, National Review columnist and former PR executive - who complained in a recent written testimony to Congress about Sarbanes-Oxley's role in forcing
companies overseas and CEOs to take their businesses to the private sector.
Despite the crescendo of corporate grumblings, Sarbanes-Oxley has been the peg for communications executives to hang their transparency efforts on, and if wholesome
communications have anything to do with it, surely PR professionals can take this opportunity to raise a birthday toast to that.