Sarbanes-Oxley regulation to go on trial

Sarbanes-Oxley could be deemed unconstitutional

The US supreme court has agreed to hear a case which could decide the fate of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley act.

The court said on Monday that it would preside over the case in which a US advocacy group is claiming that the act and its Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are unconstitutional.

The case centres around an accounting firm from Nevada which objected to the board. The case is also being backed by advocacy group Free Enterprise Fund.

If the court agrees with the plaintiffs, the ruling could imperil the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, which was passed in 2002 in the wake of the Enron scandal. The aim of the law was to force companies to adopt a more trustworthy and transparent approach in their accounting practices.

Since its passage, the act has become one of the major compliance standards. The law has become a watermark not only for firms doing business in the US and elsewhere, but for government and regulatory groups looking to establish financial compliance standards.

Compliance in general has also become a hot topic for IT. In the midst of mounting financial and privacy breaches, many are calling for tighter regulatory rules in all areas of data management.