Sarbanes-Oxley Act: What Has it Wrought?
Author: Keating, Elizabeth
Source: The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education's Corporate Governance and Accountability Project
Year: 2006
Abstract:
This Teaching Module was prepared by Elizabeth Keating, CPA, and Eli Goldston Lecturer at Harvard Law School, as part of CasePlace.org's Corporate Governance and Accountability Project.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the most significant piece of corporate securities legislation since the Securities Act of 1933 and The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The Act's requirements are significant and have brought about substantial change in the work and role of auditors and the operations and financial disclosures of publicly traded corporations. However, this change has not been costless.
This Teaching Module complements "Sarbanes Oxley Act: How Did We Get Here?" which covers the key events, particularly the accounting scandals, leading up to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and describes the key provisions of the Act.
The teaching note for this collection, available for download below to faculty members logged in on CasePlace.org, discusses the key sections of the Act.
The teaching note in this collection first describes the key provisions of the Act. It is followed by a discussion of the primary costs and benefits of the changes it has required. The note then explores some alternative forms of corporate governance. Cases and references that may be useful in teaching about the Act, its consequences and alternatives are then described. The note concludes with recommendations on how to use these materials in various courses.
On September 27th, CasePlace.org hosted an online web-conference with featured guest Professor Elizabeth Keating of Harvard Law School, author of this collection. The conference focused on the "Sarbanes-Oxley: What Has it Wrought?" Teaching Module and discussed how faculty members could incorporate materials from this collection into their core accounting, strategy, management and finance classes.
The powerpoint and audio for this conference are available here: Web-Conference: Sarbanes-Oxley: What Has it Wrought? .
Download Here!
A teaching note for this case is also available for download
Sarbanes-Oxley Act: What Has it Wrought? (149k)
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