An interesting amendment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act

[lekatis]

Prepare for the amendment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that permits confidential supervisory information sharing with foreign auditor oversight bodies.

This is one critical step for the mutual recognition and cooperation with the supervisory authorities of the European Union and other countries.

111TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3346
To amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to permit the sharing of confidential supervisory information with foreign auditor oversight bodies.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JULY 27, 2009
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts (for himself and Mr. KANJORSKI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

A BILL
To amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to permit the sharing of confidential supervisory information with foreign auditor oversight bodies.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO SHARE CERTAIN INFORMATION.

(a) DEFINITION.-Section 2(a) of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 7201(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (16) the following:

''(17) FOREIGN AUDITOR OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY.-The term 'foreign auditor oversight authority' means any governmental body or other entity empowered by a foreign government to conduct inspections of public accounting firms or otherwise to administer or enforce laws related to the regulation of public accounting firms.''.

(b) AVAILABILITY TO SHARE INFORMATION.-Section 105(b)(5) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 7215(b)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

''(C) AVAILABILITY TO FOREIGN OVERSIGHT AUTHORITIES.-When in the Board's discretion it is necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act or to protect investors, and without the loss of its status as confidential and privileged in the hands of the Board, all information referred to in subparagraph (A) that relates to a public accounting firm within the inspection authority, or other regulatory or law enforcement jurisdiction, of a foreign auditor oversight authority may be made available to the foreign auditor oversight authority if the foreign auditor oversight authority provides such assurances of confidentiality as the Board determines appropriate.''.

Notes
Congressman Frank became Chairman of the Committee on Financial Services in January, 2007. The committee has a very wide jurisdiction, and it is the second largest committee in the Congress - there are seventy members.

House Financial Services Committee
The Committee oversees all components of the US housing and financial services sectors including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities.

The Committee continually reviews the laws and programs relating to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and international development and finance agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The Committee also ensures enforcement of housing and consumer protection laws such as the U.S. Housing Act, the Truth In Lending Act, the Housing and Community Development Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act
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George Lekatis
President of the Sarbanes Oxley Compliance Professionals Association (SOXCPA)

[Denis]

That's a positive development! I thought the European authorities were meant to share data with US authorities without any pretence of reciprocation
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"The art of life is to deal with problems as they arise, rather than destroy one's spirit by worrying about them too far in advance" - Cicero