Implementing Sarbanes‐Oxley: What Does Compliance Look Like?
Sanjay Anand · 2012
Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is a very large project consisting of many interrelated components that all exert influence on one another in a dynamic way; thus, the ability to effectively manage projects is absolutely critical. To keep the process flowing, and to maintain control of the project, an organization must draw up and execute a detailed time line that includes critical dates for compliance and checklists for specific activities required to comply with each section. To avoid being overwhelmed by the complexity of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, an organization should develop a checklist of specific activities that must be accomplished for each section of the Act. These detailed checklists can then be used to guide the action and direction of the compliance effort. Sarbanes-Oxley requires an unprecedented amount of documentation, which must be accessible and easy to follow if and when an audit of the corporation's processes, systems, reports, or statements occurs.