The Government Accountability Office has issued a report warning the Securities and Exchange Commission that in its effort to ease the burden of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the agency should not scale back the act too much.
“It is essential that the overriding purpose of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act – investor protection –is preserved and that the SEC assess available guidance to determine if additional supplements or clarifying guidance for smaller public companies is needed,” according to the report.
The GAO report goes on to say that the “criteria and characteristic used should be linked to the investor protection goals” of making sure those companies receiving relief from the act are “targeted and limited.”