Overview
After major corporate and accounting scandals,
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, also known as the Public Company Accounting
Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, was passed in 2002 to
prevent such accounting scandals. Named after Senator Paul Sarbanes and
U.S. Representative, Michael G. Oxley, the SOX Act was signed by
President George W. Bush.
Simply known as SOX, the legislation adheres to strict policies on
how corporations need to handle specific compliance types of issues.
From managing all electronic communications to compliance in financial
reporting, the SOX Act puts all policies in place.There are several companies that offer certification in the compliance of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. These training programs are known as SOX certifications and give corporations the assurance that the company's management teams have the skills and knowledge to be in compliance with the legislation, which adds to their credibility.
Companies can go in for third party certification after attending training programs that are developed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Certification Institute, a widely respected authority. The SOX Institute in tandem with a host of alliance partners from around the globe offer these training programs.
These training programs and certification have been developed with the objective to promote professionalism and best practices throughout the development and administration. In doing so, these certificates will add more value to any organization in terms of obliging with the law and other standards.
The SOX Certificate includes 11 headers that are mandatory for financial reporting. The program also gives professionals inside the compliance industry a formal process that enables co-employer recognition, motivates all professionals for a career development, maintains highest standards of professional practices, and ethical conduct.
How it Works
SOX training is offered in two different levels: SOX Base, which is an entry level certificate and SOX Pro, which is an advanced version.The SOX Base requires an employee to pass a test to determine proficiency in the basic tenets of SOX as covered through the course. This base-level course is a prerequisite to getting the industry recognized with the SOX professional certification. It prepares an employee for the IT and Information Security exam tracks.
The SOX Pro, an advanced course, requires the participant to demonstrate significant experience in SOX. It certifies the employee at the professional level and each exam requires subsequent annual maintenance of a minimum of 12 hours of Sarbanes-Oxley related PDUs or CEUs.
All Sarbanes-Oxley Certification classes provide the participant an in-depth understanding of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Managers and supervisors can understand how the act applies to their particular job in their specific company or industry and is based on outcome-based delivery. All programs focus on practical skills that managers can implement in their career.
Benefits
On an individual employee or consultant, the benefit of applying SOX is that it helps in salary boost because it produces higher skills, as opposed to a non-certified professional. Also, with salary hike, one can expect a better career path. The SOX certificate acts as a third party endorsement to an employee's knowledge and experience.For companies or organizations, the SOX certificate also serves as an independent evidence to implement Sarbanes-Oxley compliance project. Companies benefit from this training program because SOX certified employees help secure the accounting and business practices of the corporation.