CPAs, ACFE and 404

"A measure by the House Financial Services Committee that would exempt small and midsized companies from Sarbanes-Oxley audit requirements has drawn fire from a number of organizations, including the [AICPA], the Center for Audit Quality and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners [ACFE]. ... The exemption comes despite a plea from [SEC] Chair Mary Schapiro, who wrote to lawmakers on the committee opposing the carve-out. ... The accounting profession supports the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and we believe that the Section 404(b) internal control provisions should apply to all public companies, not just large ones,' said AICPA president and chief executive Barry Melancon [BM]. ... The exemption provision also raised the ire of ACFE president James D. Ratley, who said that lawmakers need to consider the impact of potential fraud losses on organizations, investors, employees and taxpayers when weighing the cost of anti-fraud controals prescribed by SOX. ... In a report issued last year on fraud statistics, the Austin, Texas-based ACFE found that the implementatiion of anti-fraud controls has a measurable impact on an entity's exposure to fraud. ... Meanwhile, Cindy Forelli, executive director at the CAQ, wrote a letter to the leaders of the congressional committe also criticizing the amendment: 'We believe the reforms under SOX have contributed significantly to restoring investor confidence, and in particular, that Section 404 has played a critical role in promoting high-quality financial reporting, which is vital to the successful operation of our capital markets", Accounting Today, 14 December 2009, link:

http://www.webcpa.com/ato_issues/23_19/critics-assail-small-co.-404-exemption-52654-1.html.

BM, shut up. You don't speak for me. I'm a CPA, or didn't you notice? Why does the American Institute of Craven, Pilfering Accountants favor keeping SOX section 404 for small companies? Because the Big 87654-controlled AICPA wants to help the Big 87654 sell SOX 404 internal control audits. I view anything from the ACFE with suspicion ever since Joe Wells founded it in 1988, It too wants more business for its members. The CAQ is a bigger joke than the AICPA, of which it was a part. The CAQ was the AICPA's SEC Practice Section until SOX created the PCAOB which now does inspections, which replaced peer review. The SECPS did nothing to improve Big 87654 practice and the CAQ is just a Big 87654 lobbying organization. Kill SOX! See my 29 August 2009 post:

http://skepticaltexascpa.blogspot.com/2009/08/fraudbusters.html.