Sarbonese-Oxley causes confusion in US IT sector

A report in CNET News examines the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and questions whether relief from the onerous provisions of the legislation is on the way. The Act, passed by Congress in the wake of scandals such as the Enron debacle, has caused confusion and been expensive for the IT sector. An absence of clear guidance from government officials or auditing firms about the anti-fraud law has meant that IT personnel have felt compelled at times to go to extremes, said one IT expert. Some IT departments seem to have responded to the law, commonly known as SOX, by documenting a wide range of activities, including apparently trivial ones. However, new official guidance was issued last month in a bid to clarify what needs to be tested when it comes to ‘general IT controls’. General IT controls include controls over program development, program changes and access to programs and data.