The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox has announced that small to mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) will not be exempt from key provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This surprise announcement has an impact on all publicly-traded SMEs, many of which will fail to meet the set deadline.
SEC Doesn't Mince Words
The SEC has stated that it will extend the postponement of final rules for the smallest of publicly-traded enterprises (also known as non-accelerated filers) by a few months. However, all public enterprises must comply with Section 404 by December 16, 2006.