What is a Sarbanes-Oxley violation?

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act prohibits a publicly traded company, or any contractor or agent of such company, from retaliation against an employee who blows-the-whistle on what she reasonably believes to be a violation of statutes prohibiting mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, any rule or regulation of the …

What does Sarbanes-Oxley Act protect?

In 2002, Congress passed the historic Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which protects employees of publicly traded companies who report violations of Securities and Exchange Commission regulations or any provision of federal law relating to fraud against the shareholders.

What type of harm did the Sarbanes-Oxley Act seek to prevent After numerous whistle blower complaints?

Protected Whistleblowing Under Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Protection Law. The Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower law protects corporate whistleblowers for providing information about securities fraud, shareholder fraud, bank fraud, a violation of any SEC rule or regulation, mail fraud, or wire fraud.

How do I report a SOX violation?

An employee can file a SOX complaint with OSHA by visiting or calling their local OSHA office at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), or sending a written complaint to their closest OSHA regional or area office.

Who is held liable if there is a compliance violation of SOX?

Who is personally liable if there is a compliance violation? The CEO and the CFO must certify all financial statements filed with the SEC. The maximum penalty for Securities Exchange Act violations has increased to $5 million for individuals and $25 million for entities, as well as imprisonment of up to 20 years.

Who is covered by Sarbanes-Oxley?

The whistleblower protection provision of SOX protects: employees, officers, and agents of publicly traded companies (companies issuing securities registered under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or required to file reports under section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934);

What type of harm did the Sarbanes-Oxley Act seek to prevent?

Often considered one of the most important whistleblower protection laws due to its diverse administrative, criminal and civil provisions, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act contains significant protections for whistleblowers to ensure that employees can safely disclose information which may harm investors, especially fraud.

Who enforces SOX compliance?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforces SOX. SOX imposes criminal penalties for certifying a misleading or fraudulent financial report, which can be upwards of $5 million in fines and 20 years in prison when someone willfully certifies misleading or fraudulent financial statements.

What qualifies as whistleblower?

To be considered a whistleblower in the United States, most federal whistleblower statutes require that federal employees have reason to believe their employer violated some law, rule, or regulation; testify or commence a legal proceeding on the legally protected matter; or refuse to violate the law.

What are examples of SOX controls?

What Are Some SOX Controls Examples?

  • Segregation of duties: This is one that even the smallest of finance teams learn to value as it spreads responsibility for a task beyond just one person.
  • Code of conduct: Employees should acknowledge their awareness and compliance of the code on an annual basis.