NEWSRELEASE
For Release: May 25, 2007
Contact: John
McDowell, (202) 205-6941
SBA Number: 07-15 ADVO
Press Kit
SEC Should Reconsider Sarbanes-Oxley Extensions For Small Business
Commissioners Atkins And Casey Praised For Plans To Revisit Issue
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office of Advocacy today praised Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commissioners Paul Atkins and Kathleen Casey for their willingness to reconsider the SEC decision not to extend the deadline for small public firm compliance with section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Advocacy wrote to the commissioners in the wake of the SEC’s decision not to grant postponement of deadlines for public firms with less than $75 million in market value.
In the letter, Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan asked the SEC to revisit the issue of compliance deadline extensions for smaller public firms. This request mirrors that of recent letters to the SEC by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the Ranking Member.
In April, Sullivan’s congressional testimony noted, “There is a compelling record demonstrating that the costs of complying with Section 404 are large and disproportionately high for small public companies. . . Advocacy believes that the excessive cost of Section 404 internal controls reporting may restrict a new generation of small innovative companies from seeking capital in the U.S. capital markets.”
Based on years of involvement in the issue Sullivan testified, “Advocacy strongly recommends that the SEC continue to provide further extensions for small public companies.” The recommendation is consistent with a report from the SEC’s own Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies. As the Advisory Committee has pointed out, Section 404 compliance costs in relation to revenue will be disproportionately borne by smaller companies.
The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.
For more information and a copy of the letter, visit the Office of Advocacy website at
www.sba.gov/advo.###
The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit
www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.