Passed into law in 2002 by the US Government, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) mandates more responsibility and accountability for corporate executives regarding audits and certification of accounting reports. Since the act was passed, most companies that are publicly traded in the US have been required to prove that their financial reports and statements – and the processes used to generate them – are protected against fraud.

The act introduced strict corporate governance rules, enforced through criminal punishment for corporate fraud, whose purpose is to guarantee the transparency of corporate tax results and enforce independence and autonomy of external auditors. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to oversee public accounting firms and issue accounting standards.

As a result corporate executives are faced with regulatory responsibilities in addition to their responsibilities to shareholders.