-- 63% of respondents believe that SOX has been successful in preventing
corporate fraud -- an increase of more than 15% since a similar Approva
study was conducted in October of 2006.
-- 52% of respondents said that their company would be spending less on
compliance costs this year than last. 31% said they planned to spend the
same on compliance as last year, and only 17% predicted an increase in
spending.
-- 51% respondents believed that SOX has increased the confidence of
their investors, while 49% said SOX had not increased investor confidence.
-- 83% of respondents reported following industry news related to SOX and
recent new guidance from the SEC and PCAOB.
-- 67% of respondents believe that new SEC and PCAOB guidance will help
lessen SOX compliance burdens.
-- 53% of companies are not using a software solution to automate SOX
compliance. Of the 47% who are using software solutions, 34% report that
between 30-50% of their controls remain manual versus automated. 55% of
companies using software solutions report that 50% or more of their
controls are automated.
Available Experts
The following experts can discuss Approva's Compliance Survey, as well as
provide expert commentary on the corporate environment at the act's
formation in 2002, the past five years of Sarbanes-Oxley, and predictions
for the future.
-- Harvey Pitt, CEO of Kalorama Partners, former SEC chairman and
independent board member of Approva
As SEC chairman from 2001 to 2003, Pitt led the commission's response to
the market disruptions resulting from the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and led
the commission's adoption of dozens of rules in response to the corporate
and accounting crises generated by the excesses of the 1990s. Pitt has an
excellent perspective on what the environment was like that led to the
creation and passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and how things have changed
over the last five years.
-- Phil Livingston, Vice Chairman of Approva
In his previous role as CEO of FEI, Livingston helped to create and pass
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Livingston can offer a perspective about
the original intent around Sarbanes-Oxley as well as share first-hand
experiences of how companies that have embraced SOX have been able to weave
compliance into the day-to-day processes by automating controls testing and
monitoring.
-- Prashanth "PV" Boccasam, CEO of Approva
PV has an unrivaled appreciation for spotting the convergence of business
and IT trends and conceiving how new technologies can be applied to address
problems that are top priorities for C-Level executives, and can discuss
the pre-SOX business landscape, as well as the day-to-day challenges that
SOX has posed to both large and small companies.
A summary of the results as well as a PowerPoint presentation can be found
on Audit Trail, the official blog of
Approva Corporation at www.approva.net/audittrail.
About Approva
Approva® Corporation is the industry-leading provider of continuous
controls monitoring and audit software. We enable business, finance, IT
and audit professionals to automate the on-demand testing, closed-loop
remediation and continuous, exception-based monitoring of controls within
and across their business systems. Using our solutions, customers are able
to significantly increase visibility into their controls, streamline the
audit process, cost-effectively sustain their compliance initiatives and
reduce exposure to mistakes, fraud and inefficiencies for business
processes such as procurement, sales and delivery, payroll and financial
close. In addition, our automated solutions act as key preventative and
detective controls, further strengthening our customers' financial and
operational control environments. Global companies such as Campbell Soup
Company, Colgate-Palmolive, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, DirecTV,
Discovery Communications, McCormick & Company, P&G, Pratt & Whitney,
Siemens and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts rely on Approva BizRights® Platform
and Enterprise Controls Suite to reduce compliance risk, increase
operational efficiency and flag exceptions to their business controls. For
more information, visit www.approva.net
Editors Note: For additional and more specific background on each of
Approva's initiatives, please go to Approva's press
room.
Contact Information: For More Information Contact: Matthew Langan DBC Public Relations for Approva 202.298.7600 x.219 matthew@dbcpr.com