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The SEC has been urged by lobbying group, Wednesday to loosen section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Wednesday, in a letter to the SEC, said of Section 404, "has been costly, onerous and threatens U.S. capital markets and business competitiveness."

404 is the most contentious part of the legislation. Not only does it require companies to show that internal controls over financial reporting exist, but also to confirm their effectiveness.

The costs of complying with 404 have been a constant theme throughout corporate America. Firms have complained about the cost of consultants and high auditing fees.

Remarks by SEC Chairman William Donaldson, for a roundtable on internal controls, acknowledged some of these concerns. "We also understand that the process of implementing the requirements of Section 404 - as well as the related SEC and PCAOB rules - has consumed considerable time, energy and resources and has generated intense debate,"

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Keywords

SEC

Securities and Exchange Commission

Wednesday

section 404

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

capital markets

markets

competition

internal controls

financial reporting

PCAOB

Public Accounting Oversight Board