Enacted in July of 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (a.k.a. Sarbox or SOX) was developed as a direct reaction to the state of corporate accounting abuses which were exposed in the late 90s and early 00s. Aimed at instilling a greater sense of transparency and control into corporate accounting practices, the legislation currently does not apply to privately-held firms. However, the spirit behind SOX – the need to adopt accounting “best practices” and follow a more auditable process – has caused many private organizations to alter bookkeeping practices.

The legislation consists of 11 different titles, each covering a different aspect of financial reporting:

• Title I:  Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
• Title II: Auditor Independence
• Title III:  Corporate Responsibility
• Title IV: Enhanced Financial Disclosures
• Title V:  Analyst Conflicts of Interest
• Title VI:  Commission Resources & Authority
• Title VII:  Studies & Reports
• Title VIII:  Corporate & Criminal Fraud Accountability
• Title IX:  White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement
• Title X: Corporate Tax Returns
• Title XI:  Corporate Fraud Accountability

One of the greatest areas of expense (and complexity) for any organization is the compensation of its employees. Ensuring that employees are paid accurately and in full compliance with all relevant pay rules and regulations is critical for organizations of any size. Failing to do so can dramatically impact the bottom-line of your business. Safeguarding your organization from lost revenues due to over- or under-paying employees, reducing the frequency of off-cycle corrective check runs, and ensuring you are operating in full compliance with all labor laws and policies is vital to the long-term success of your business.

The WorkForce Software Solution:

WorkForce Software’s EmpCenter family of solutions fully supports the recordkeeping, control and audit trail capabilities which are required under Sarbanes-Oxley. Due to our ability to automate 100% of all pay rules within an organization – from state and local regulations to corporate and union-specific policies – WorkForce Software mitigates risk, simplifies compliance and provides you with the resources you need to demonstrate compliance as well. Click here for more information about WorkForce Software’s EmpCenter solutions.

Additional Resources:

• For detailed descriptions of each title, visit The Library of Congress online at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.3763.ENR:%20.
• For more information on WorkForce Software’s compliance analysis offerings, click here
• To view the webcast “Sarbanes-Oxley and the Payroll Professional,”
  click here