News by SB Informer

New Abt Associates Report Outlines Burdens Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Places on Small and Mid-Size Businesses

Report for Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Recommends Revisions

SB Informer
Tuesday, May 23, 2006; 01:55 AM

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A recent report by Abt Associates for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, A Fairer Climb: Improving Sarbanes-Oxley has found that the costs associated with establishing and maintaining internal control structures for financial reporting as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has resulted in implementation costs that negatively impact the ability of small and mid-size businesses to compete.

The report says SOX has become yet one more burden in the steep climb towards an initial public offering that is especially difficult for small firms. Many firms are now choosing to remain or become private, others are turning to international stock markets for their IPOs. "The report identified important questions about the costs to small and mid-size businesses of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley. Small businesses represent the majority of businesses in the United States, and what we heard in our sampling was they would like to see the compliance requirements for small business revised," said Susan Windham, Vice President for Business Research and Consulting at Abt Associates.

The Greater Boston Chamber has shared the report with several other U.S. Chambers of Commerce located in high technology regions of the country who have supported the findings, including the San Francisco, Greater Raleigh and Greater Austin Chambers. The report will be used by the Greater Boston Chamber to advance new recommendations to the Securities and Exchange Commission for revising compliance guidelines for small companies.

Abt Associates, a private, employee-owned company, applies scientific research and technical assistance expertise to a wide range of social, economic and technological policy issues; international development; clinical trials and registries; and complex business problems. Founded in 1965, Abt Associates provides services to U.S. federal, state and local governments; foreign governments; international organizations; foundations; and business and industry. Its staff of over 1,000 is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Bethesda, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; and in Africa, Asia, Central Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. For further information about Abt Associates please visit http://www.abtassociates.com/.

Contact: Peter Broderick Vice President, Director of Corporate Communications 617-349-2882 [email protected] http://www.abtassociates.com/

 Feedback   Submit Article