Obama jobs group raps fraud-busting Sarbanes-Oxley

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11289/1182208-435-0.stm

Obama jobs group raps fraud-busting Sarbanes-Oxley

Sunday, October 16, 2011
By Len Boselovic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sweeping reforms enacted after investors lost millions because of accounting fraud at Enron, WorldCom and other publicly traded companies are stifling jobs creation.

At least that's the opinion of President Barack Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. It wants to provide relief from the accounting regimen to a wide swath of corporate America. The advisory group believes that easing the regulations will reduce companies' costs and make it easier for entrepreneurs to raise money by selling stock.

Critics say rolling back the protections will create something other than jobs.

"All you're going to do is have more fraud. The ultimate losers are going to be investors," said Jeff Klink, a former federal prosecutor whose Gateway Center firm helps clients prevent and detect fraud.

The council's report states that "nearly all members" recommend that companies with market values of less than $1 billion be spared from complying with all of SOX, or at least with its internal controls provisions. If that's not possible, companies should be exempt from the law for the first five years after they sell stock to the public, the report states.

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