Sarbanes-Oxley Section 302: ICFR

To re-establish investor confidence, the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation made executive certifications of financial statements a permanent requirement for all publicly traded companies in the U.S.  In doing so, they introduced a newly defined term “disclosure controls and procedures.” This expanded the concept of Internal Controls over Financial Reporting.

Internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) is mandated by the SEC for public firms to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. ICFR is essential for establishing public trust in capital markets and financial statement issuers.

SOX Section 302 became effective August 29, 2002. It stated:

“The executive certification requirement applies to companies filing quarterly/ annual reports with the SEC under Section 13(a) or 15 (d) of 1934 Exchange Act.”  Since the implementation date for SOX 302 was well before SOX 404, many questions surfaced regarding the adequacy of procedures established.  In addition, many companies have not significantly revisited their procedures since initially establishing them.

SOX Section 302 certification requirements are essential to proper financial reporting.  All personnel should have a strong understanding of the requirements and their obligations related to SOX Section 302.  This course is designed for CPAs to provide them with a deeper understanding of the requirements behind SOX Section 302, the meaning of the certifications required from management and an analysis of processes that should be continually re-evaluated for improvement.

Information within this course comes from readily available public domain documents and is utilized by the trainer as a supplement for relaying the course content.

Note: The concepts outlined in this course are up to date and relevant in regards to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. Although there have not been any changes in the legislative concepts of the law since it’s release in 2002, some aspects of executing the work have evolved. This speaker is preparing a series of courses titled “Sarbanes-Oxley 20 years later”. Those courses can be found individually on the platform and would be beneficial for anyone involved with compliance.

NOTE: The Instructor has created 5 new segments on Sarbanes-Oxley Update – 20 Years Later:

Sarbanes-Oxley Update – 20 Years Later: Accounting Risk Assessment Considerations
Sarbanes-Oxley Update – 20 Years Later: Sourcing Emerging Risks Part 1
Sarbanes-Oxley Update – 20 Years Later: Evaluating Testing Processes
Sarbanes-Oxley Update – 20 Years Later: Sourcing Emerging Risks Part 2
Sarbanes-Oxley Update – 20 Years Later: Examining Fraud Risks