Governance |
Auditor Attestation Exemption Advances
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It’s uncertain whether the Senate will take up a bill expanding the category of companies that are exempt from the Sarbanes-Oxley requirement that companies get an auditor attestation of a company’s financial controls.
The House Financial Services Committee passed a bill (H.R. 1645) that expands the exemption created by the JOBS Act, which created a category of emerging growth companies (EGCs) that are exempt from the requirement. The bill extends the exemption:
- until the earlier of 10 years after the EGC went public,
- the end of the fiscal year in which the EGC’s average gross revenues exceed $50 million,
- or when the EGC qualifies with the SEC as a large accelerated filer.
Macey Matthews, a spokeswoman for Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D.-Ariz.), a cosponsor of the bill, says, “We are working on a Senate companion. Timing on a House vote is unclear.”