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Future implementation of European Sarbanes-Oxley (Euro-SOX aka EuroSOX) - an example of future Chaotic Change!

This space is devoted to the forthcoming introduction into Europe of corporate compliance legislation similar in scope and implications to Sarbanes-Oxley in the US ... affectionately referred to in some quarters as Euro-SOX or EuroSOX.  As time progresses, this website will be enhanced in order to provide a comprehensive source of news, guidance, materials and general advice to assist European organisations cope with the challenge of complying with this legislation.  Of course, if you need additional help with these compliance activities then Project Systems Support is here to help you - just call Robert Toogood on +44 (0)1794 322755  or send him an email to arrange an initial no-obligation discussion of your specific needs.

 

Source: Information Security Forum

EuroSox risks getting lost in translation warns the Information Security Forum

25 different language versions of EU corporate governance legislation due to come into effect this summer will present challenges for multinationals.

https://www.securityforum.org/assests/pdf/PR_EuroSOX_08.pdf

 

 

Source: Gartner Group

SOX and EuroSOX are as similar as they are different

European compliance officers wonder what SOX Act-like legislation in Europe will mean for them. Between SOX and the European version that some call "EuroSOX," there are as many similarities as there are differences; the impact will not be the same.  Gartner Research ID G00155812, 1. April 2008, “SOX and ‘EuroSOX’ are as similar as they are different”, Carsten Casper.
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=155812&ref=g_rss

 

 

Source: AIIM Knowledge Center Blog

EuroSOX - The European Version of SOX

In the European Community, a gathering of 26 sovereign States, the various countries have had their own individual laws for some time, or have modeled a compliance framework based on SOX. There is however a European law that will start coming in soon.

http://aiimknowledgecenter.typepad.com/weblog/2007/09/eurosox---the-e.html

 

 

Source: UK Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR)

UK - Implementation of Directive 2006/43/EC on Statutory Audits of Annual and Consolidated Accounts (8th Company Law Directive)

 

Original Consultation Document - March 2007:

European company law and corporate governance: implementation of directive 2006/43/EC on statutory audits of annual and consolidated accounts (8th company law directive): a consultative document

 

Policy Conclusions and Draft Regulations - July 2007:  

Implementation of Directive 2006/43/EC on Statutory Audits of Annual and Consolidated Accounts (8th Company Law Directive): policy conclusions and draft regulations

 

Summary of Comments received on the Draft Regulations and the Government's Conclusions - December 2007:

EC on Statutory Audits of Annual and Consolidated Accounts (8th Company Law Directive)- summary of comments on the draft regulations and the Government's conclusions

 

 

Source: Europa, Official Journal of the European Union

Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of The Council of 17 May 2006

http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:157:0087:0107:EN:PDF

 

 

Source: Institute of Charted Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

Corporate Governance: Europe - Useful Links

http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/156463/icaew_ga/en/Library/Links/Corporate_governance/Corporate_Governance_Europe

 

 

Source: TechWorld

Touchpaper questions IT readiness for EuroSOX

 

The Statutory Audit and the Company Reporting Directives are commonly referred to as EuroSOX. These two European directives were issued by the European Union Council of Ministers, and aim to engender more transparency and public confidence in the operations of companies operating within the EU.

 

The Statutory Audit Directive aims to strengthen the standards and public accountability of the audit profession. The Company Reporting Directive meanwhile aims to enhance confidence in financial statements and annual reports from European companies.

 

The two EU Directives are required to incorporated into the national laws of EU member states this summer. States are expected to comply with the Statutory Audit Directive by 29 June, and the Company Reporting Directive by 5 September.

 

Earlier this year, the Information Security Forum (ISF) warned that the introduction of EuroSOX could be chaotic, as each state will have to interpret and translate the collection of directives that make up EuroSOX, leading to subtle divergences of law between different states.

 

But Touchpaper, which has recently been acquired by Avocent, is encouraging IT directors to view EuroSOX as an opportunity rather than a headache, with IT departments using the Directives to driver better IT governance. Its white paper aims to help companies understand the practical implications of the Directives, particularly from an IT service management perspective.

 

Touchpaper warns IT directors that while there is no technology-based 'magic bullet' solution for compliance with the Directives, the IT department nevertheless has a vital role to play in improving the general state of corporate governance in Europe.

 

"IT directors should be informed, so when the financial director asks them, they know a bit about it," said Marina Stedman, director at Touchpaper and the author of the white paper. "There wasn't enough information about EuroSOX, so we wanted to know more, hence the white paper. The paper offers short term actions IT directors can start thinking about."

 

"European directives are much less onerous than Sarbanes-Oxley," Stedman told Techworld. "They really just highlight best practises. You should be having trained auditors, should understand areas of high risk, fraud prevention etc."

 

And the IT Director shouldn't worry over possible conflict between EuroSOX and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. UK and European companies only need to worry about the Sarbanes Oxley Act (which is a piece of US legislation) if they operate in the United States. UK and European companies will need to operate under the EuroSOX directives however.

 

"Good companies will use the European directives to put their houses in order and implement best practises," Stedman added. "We would tell IT directors that they need to understand its basic principles. Understand what processes they have in place, who is accessing corporate information, how it is transmitted etc. If someone asked who has access to this information, would they know?"

http://www.techworld.com/applications/features/index.cfm?featureid=4161

 

 

Source: The EuroSox Institute

What an IT manager needs to know about Eurosox
At the IDC IT Security conference in Copenhagen 25. September, Kersi Porbunderwalla from Controllers Aps gave a presentation about what an IT Manager needs to know about Eurosox and compliance in general.

 

 

Source: The EuroSox Institute

Will EuroSox also be a regulatory overreach?

Managing partner in GRC Controllers, Kersi F. Porbunderwalla, will be presenting the paper "Will EuroSox also be a regulatory overreach, as its American counterpart SOX?" at the Winter 2008 Hawaii Global Conference on Business and Finance. The conference will be held January 9-12, 2008 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, Honolulu, Hawaii. An abstract of the paper is available here.
 

 

Source: IT-Director.com Newsletter

BUILD A COMPLIANCE SOLUTION FOR THE FUTURE

In the US the draconian requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are concentrating the minds of senior executives and providing a fertile market for software vendors such as IBM to deliver packaged solutions to the problems of managing compliance.

http://www.it-director.com/technology/productivity/content.php?cid=7033

 

 

Source: BetterManagement.com Financial Management Newsletter/Knowledge@Wharton

SHELL GAMES AT ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL: WILL THEY AFFECT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN EUROPE

While not a disease it appears the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) conundrum could be spreading. What caused the original problems that instigated the passage of SOX boils down to lapse in ethics and resultant transgressions. No organization is immune to these challenges and it appears Royal Dutch/Shell may be infected. Earlier this year Royal Dutch/Shell announced that its oil reserves were overstated by 20% - a value equivalent to $70 Billion US. Wharton's article, Shell Games at Royal Dutch/Shell: Will They Affect Corporate Governance in Europe? advises this overstatement was not substantiated by scientific quantification thus leading one to wonder how the originally claimed oil reserves were arrived at. Caught in a competitive industry with further pressure by the then dot-coms, Wharton professors claim the company felt some order of financial smoothing was warranted.

http://www.bettermanagement.com/library/library.aspx?libraryid=9318&pagenumber=2

 

 

Source: IT Week

GOVERNANCE RULES WILL GET BUSINESS MOVING

 Will a European Sarbanes-Oxley-style directive cause unprecedented corporate upheaval?

http://www.itweek.co.uk/Comment/1154132

 

 

Source: IT-Director.com

US APPROACH TO CORPORATE GOVERNANCE LOOKS SET TO BE INTRODUCED IN EUROPE

The European Union proposals for improvement in corporate governance in the slipstream of Europe's own corporate scandals take much the same approach as deployed in the USA in its Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

http://www.it-director.com/business/content.php?cid=6962

 

 

Source: EurActive.com Portal

COMMISSION PROPOSES NEW AUDIT DIRECTIVE TO COMBAT CORPORATE FRAUD

To prevent future corporate scandals such as the Parmalat case, EU Member States are being called on to introduce tougher rules for the auditing of company accounts.

http://www.euractiv.com/en/opinion/commission-proposes-new-audit-directive-combat-corporate-fraud/article-114426

 

 

Source: Gartner

GET READY FOR EUROPEAN "SARBANES-OXLEY" AUDIT RULES

Corporations must ensure that they have business process management procedures, including audit trails and document management, in place and are ready to respond to the proposed European Union auditing rules directive.

http://www4.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=120137

 

If you need help with preparing for these changes, contact Robert Toogood on +44 (0)1794 322755 or via email at robert_toogood@chaoticchange.com.