Sarbanes Oxley Act Section 404: Effective Internal Controls Or Overriding Internal Controls?

Abstract The principal objectives of the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) are to minimize the possibility of financial statement fraud in publicly traded corporations and to minimize the possibility of external auditors endorsing falsified financial statements. Implementation of the act has gone well with the exception of Section 404, which was intended to create greater accountability of top management. It has, instead, morphed into a detailed, cost-prohibitive, and ineffective bureaucracy. External auditors are focusing on the risk of fraud occurring when the focus should be on determining if override of internal controls has occurred. The spirit of SOX Section 404 could be better served in a more cost-effective manner through the skilled evaluation of trend analysis, vertical analysis, and ratios.