Category: Tax Law Offices

Many attorneys have their practices in a home office, although it can be argued that a majority of “high powered” lawyers run their business predominantly from multi-floored office buildings found in our nation’s towns and cities. Some tax accountants and prepares work from a home office and others from commercial spaces like storefronts and office buildings.

A Law Enacted to Restore Order: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act




Addressing scandal

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a United States federal law passed in response to major corporate and accounting scandals including those at Enron, Tyco International, and WorldCom (now MCI). These scandals resulted in a decline of public trust in accounting and reporting practices. Named after its sponsors, Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Representative Michael G. Oxley (R-Oh.), the Act was approved by the House by a vote of 423-3 and by the Senate 99-0.

The legislation also set a number of deadlines for compliance. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is arranged into eleven titles. As far as compliance is concerned, the most important sections within these are often considered to be 302, 401, 404, 409, 802 and 906. An over-arching public company accounting board was also established by the act, which was introduced amidst a host of publicity.

provisions of the law

The legislation is wide-ranging and establishes new or enhanced standards for all U.S. public company Boards, Management, and public accounting firms. The first and most important part of the Act establishes the new quasi-public agency mentioned above, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which is charged with overseeing and disciplining accounting firms in their roles as auditors of public companies. Some of the major provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s include:

  • Certification of financial reports by chief executive officers and chief financial officers
  • Auditor independence, including outright bans on certain types of work for audit clients and pre-certification by the company’s Audit Committee of all other non-audit work
  • A requirement that companies listed on stock exchanges have fully independent audit committees that oversee the relationship between the company and its auditor
  • Significantly longer maximum jail sentences and larger fines for corporate executives who knowingly and willfully misstate financial statements, although maximum sentences are largely irrelevant because judges generally follow the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in setting actual sentences
  • Employee protections allowing those corporate fraud whistleblowers who file complaints with OSHA within 90 days, to win reinstatement, back pay and benefits, compensatory damages, abatement orders, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

‘Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 302

This section is of course listed under Title III of the act, and pertains to ‘Corporate Responsibility for Financial Reports. Here’s a summary of Section 302. Periodic statutory financial reports are to include certifications that:

  • The signing officers have reviewed the report
  • The report does not contain any material untrue statements or material omission or be considered misleading
  • The financial statements and related information fairly present the financial condition and the results in all material respects
  • The signing officers are responsible for internal controls and have evaluated these internal controls within the previous ninety days and have reported on their findings
  • A list of all deficiencies in the internal controls and information on any fraud that involves employees who are involved with internal activities
  • Any significant changes in internal controls or related factors that could have a negative impact on the internal controls
Closed loopholes

Organizations may not attempt to avoid these requirements by reincorporating their activities or transferring their activities outside of the United States.’ For more about the Act, please visit www.soxlaw.com/

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You’ve Heard the Term Auditor-What Does it Mean?


Accountants and auditors help to ensure that the Nation’s firms are run efficiently, its public records kept accurately, and its taxes paid properly and on time. They perform these vital functions by offering an increasingly wide array of business and accounting services, including public, management, and government accounting, as well as internal auditing, to their clients.

Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of the occupation – preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents in order to provide information to clients-many accountants now are required to possess a wide range of knowledge and skills. Accountants and auditors are broadening the services they offer to include budget analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and limited legal services.

Specific job duties vary widely among the four major fields of accounting: public, management, government accounting and internal auditing. Internal auditors verify the accuracy of their organization’s internal records and check for mismanagement, waste, or fraud. Internal auditing is an increasingly important area of accounting and auditing.

Internal auditors examine and evaluate their firms’ financial and information systems, management procedures and internal controls to ensure that records are accurate and controls are adequate to protect against fraud and waste. They also review company operations, evaluating their efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with corporate policies and procedures, laws, and government regulations.

There are many types of highly specialized auditors, such as electronic data-processing, environmental, engineering, legal, insurance premium, bank, and health care auditors. As computer systems make information timelier, internal auditors help managers to base their decisions on actual data, rather than personal observation.

Internal auditors also may recommend controls for their organization’s computer system, to ensure the reliability of the system and the integrity of the data. Government accountants and auditors work in the public sector, maintaining and examining the records of government agencies and auditing private businesses and individuals whose activities are subject to government regulations or taxation.

Accountants employed by Federal, State, and local governments guarantee that revenues are received and expenditures are made in accordance with laws and regulations. Those employed by the Federal Government may work as Internal Revenue Service agents or in financial management, financial institution examination, or budget analysis and administration.