Australian companies subject to the provisions of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act face a daunting compliance task.

Although a company may be registered and domiciled in Australia, if it has debt or equity securities that are sold and traded in the US, it will probably be subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).

SOX covers various aspects of company management and governance. Section 404 of the Act (SOX 404) is of particular concern. It requires management to annually assess and assert to the effectiveness of the organisation’s internal controls and procedures for financial reporting.

Section 404 (s404) also requires a company's external auditor to report on management’s evaluation of these internal controls and procedures.

How we can help

KPMG offers SOX compliance services including SOX Assistance Services and a Control Assessment Template. We help companies to:

• prepare a cost-effective, tailored s404 compliance program 
• create clear links between risks and management decisions within an ‘internal controls over financial reporting risks’ framework
• reduce the documentation and testing burden
• identify and execute year-on-year compliance with s404 compliance.

In choosing KPMG to help them with SOX compliance, organisations gain access to methodologies and software whilst working with financial reporting and compliance professionals.