SOXImprove™

A Means to Help Defray The Costs of Adopting SOX

An important yet often dismissed component of an internal control review is process improvements. Savings generated by process improvements can often defray a considerable portion of the costs to become SOX compliant. Process improvements are often dismissed as being too time-consuming to consider during an initial SOX implementation effort, but quite frequently implementing improvements immediately result in less expensive processing and better controls. Some opportunities to consider are:

Ability to improve corporate governance
Enhance processes, controls, staff performance and educate management and employees
Eliminate redundant, inefficient or ineffective control procedures
Develop a process for continuous monitoring of business risk and performance
Develop process ownership and accountability

“A simple review of our month-end procedures identified an opportunity to save 40 staff hours each month. The change required a one-time effort of only 10 hours, and not only did it reduce the time required during this critical time of month, but also improved our internal controls over financial reporting by eliminating copying and changing formulas in spreadsheets.”

- Accounting Manager of a mid-market client