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Sarbanes-Oxley – relevant to New Zealand?
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) legislation – the US response to Enron, is aimed at tightening up corporate transparency through increased compliance measures.
What relevance does this have to us in New Zealand? Well, with the introduction of Australia’s CLERP 9 reporting standards in July 2004 mirroring SOX, and the NZX and NZ Securities Commission adopting similar Corporate Governance standards, a trickle-down effect is pushing a wider trend towards greater transparency and real-time disclosure in business.
Rigorous compliance measures – stemming from the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 – are increasing pressure for disclosure and transparency in business processes. Following sharply on the heels of SOX, Australia introduced the CLERP 9 reporting standards aimed at tightening up corporate governance in July 2004.
Many companies within New Zealand are, of course, part of a global or trans-Tasman operation, and so are affected by the US and Australian legislation. Change is already underway here. For instance, the NZX has adopted a Corporate Governance Best Practice Code mirroring the spirit of SOX.
In February 2004, the NZ Securities Commission released its own corporate governance principles for New Zealand.
So what effect does this have on the IT Manager or CIO? Well, for a start, they are the first ones to be told they have to supply the data to demonstrate compliance with reporting requirements – and do so in real time, and on a ‘continuous’ basis. For some, this is a big – looming – problem.
If you want to find out more about IT Governance and how Progressive Enterprises went about putting in a robust IT governance process, download the white paper ‘The CIO’s problem with IT Governance’ at www.itoolscontrol.com
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