The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) has extended the deadline to January 31 for public companies’ participation in a web-based survey about the costs and benefits of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, according to Aim 168 Real Estate.
The survey will help inform the SEC’s ongoing cost-benefit study of Section 404 implementation with a focus on the consequences for smaller companies.
“We encourage all companies with Section 404 experience to participate,” said James Overdahl, chief economist at SEC. “The survey provides companies with an opportunity to share their experiences and provide a comprehensive set of facts on the effectiveness and efficiency of compliance with the rules established pursuant to Section 404.”
There have been responses from approximately 2,000 companies and is seen as an encouraging trend. The survey’s deadline is being extended from January 16.
The SEC’s cost-benefit study will help the Commission assess the effects of measures taken by both the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in previous years, including whether the measures have helped companies reduce their costs of compliance and whether the Commission should consider additional measures. These measures include new guidance for management’s Section 404 assessment, which was issued last year, and the PCAOB’s effort to make the Section 404(b) auditor attestation process more efficient.