Further delay for Foreign Filers? 479
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From Accountancy Age a couple of weeks ago:
Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, William Donaldson, has said the US financial regulator will offer non-US companies a delay in complying with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Speaking at the London School of Economics today, Donaldson said: ‘I have asked the staff of the Commission to consider whether to recommend that we delay the effective date of the internal control on financial reporting requirements for non-US companies.’
He also indicated that the SEC would be willing to remove some of the hurdles stopping companies from de-listing from US markets if they so wish.
See also:
accountancyage.com/analysis/1139361
accountancyage.com/news/1139253
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Thank you Denis for mentioning it. It is really important for EU companies. It is discussed that about 60 European companies are understood to be considering delisting their shares in the US in order to avoid the heavy costs of compliance.
Althougn the deadline was July 2005, for non-US companies to comply with the 404 section, many believe that the next compliance deadline for foreign companies will be November 15 2005, or even later.
Perhaps we will know more in a couple of days. The CBI delegation will meet officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the impact of the most complex and expensive provisions of the US Sarbanes-Oxley legislation on accounting and corporate governance.
George Lekatis
lekatis_at_lekatis.com