Effective in 2004, as a result of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, all public companies will be required for the first time to submit an annual assessment of the effectiveness of their internal control to the SEC. Additionally, each corporationÂ’s independent auditors are required to audit and report on managementÂ’s internal control reports, just as they audit the companyÂ’s financial statements. How to Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 provides a comprehensive, practical, and structured approach for the testing and evaluation of internal control required by Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404.
Drawing on original material by an expert in auditing and accounting, How to Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 features a step-by-step process for evaluating a company’s internal control and proving these systems are effectively in place. This hands-on resource is packed with such practice aids as forms, checklists, illustrations, diagrams, and tables to assist anyone who participates in the planning or performance of an evaluation—including CFOs, internal auditors, and outside consultants.
- Clearly and logically organized to make the material as accessible as possible, How to Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 covers:
- Management’s required assessment of the entity’s internal control
- Considerations for outside consultants
- Controls over information technology systems
- Coordinating with independent auditors
- Documenting your planning decisions
- Hard-to-test entity-level control objectives
- What auditors expect from management’s evaluation process
- Documentation: what it is…and is not
- Assessing the adequacy of existing documentation
- Internal control reliability model
- Evaluating the design and implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley automated compliance tools
- An action plan for testing and evaluating entity-level controls
- Operating effectiveness: test design considerations
- Annual and quarterly reporting requirements
- Expanded reporting on management’s responsibilities for internal control
- Example disclosures of a material weakness
- Example reports on management’s responsibilities for reporting and internal control. (barnesandnoble.com)