Australian companies 2474



  • Can anyone tell me how the Act affects Australian companies that wanted to issued securities in the US? I’m not talking about subsidiaries of US companies, I am talking about fully owned Australian companies. I’d want to know a step by step process (if anyone has the time) for if the company was registered in Australia and how do they go about complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?
    Do they have to register somewhere? Do their Auditors have to be registered? What forms do they fill in etc etc.
    Obviously they need to comply with Australian laws as well.
    Thanks so much to anyone who can help me. Its for an assignment due on Monday which I am struggling with and can find any online information on this.
    Regards
    Ness



  • Have you already done a search of the Overseas Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley forum? I recommend doing so and looking at my recent posts.
    Most of the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley complement the existing securities law (Securities Act of 1933 and Securities and Exchange Act of 1934) of the United States. A minority deals with white collar crime and special studies. The application of most sections of the Sarbanes-Oxle Act to foreign private issuers is linked to the application of the registration requirements of securities with the U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commission and of periodic reporting requirements for issuers to report to the SEC. In order to determine whether a particular section of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act applies to a company you need to look at the respective section of the act itself, the respective rules of the SEC implementing that section and any listing rules of a national securities exchange in the U.S. used by the issuer (if used).
    Most sections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act apply if an issuer uses the public capital market of the U.S. in one of the three following ways:

    1. listing of securities on a national securities exchange in the U.S.
    2. over-the-counter trading of equity securities in the U.S. (unless special exceptions for foreign private issuers are used)
    3. public offering of securities in the U.S.
      Those three ways trigger a registration requirement of the security with the SEC and a periodic reporting requirement to the SEC. If you find an annual report on form 20-F of your company in the ‘Search for Company Filings’ -> ‘Companies and Other Filer’, then your company has already registered securities with the SEC and has already filed its first annual report with the SEC.

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