H.R. 1049 would reduce the unintended costs and burdens that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 imposes on United States businesses, while maintaining that Act's goals of bolstering confidence in the integrity of publicly held companies.
Detailed Summary
Amend Misinterpreted Excessive Regulation In Corporate America Act - Amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to direct the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to appoint an ombudsman to act as a liaison between the Board and any registered public accounting firm or issuer regarding: (1) issues or disputes concerning the preparation or issuance of any audit report with respect to that issuer; and (2) problems in resulting from Board regulatory activities, particularly implementation of management assessment of internal controls.
Revises requirements governing appointment of Board members. Provides for Presidential appointment of Board members, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Declares that Congress reserves the authority to establish periodic limits upon the amount of fees which may be collected on behalf of the Board.
Instructs the Securities and Exchange Commission to: (1) adopt revisions to its rules regarding management's assessment of an issuer's internal control structure and procedures; and (2) adopt a more risk-based statement on internal control reporting that focuses internal control review on financial controls having significant risk of failing to prevent financial damages that would be material to the issuer's financial statements.
Instructs the Board to revise its standards for auditor attestation to and reporting on management's internal control assessment.
Revises the requirement that each registered public accounting firm that prepares or issues the audit report for an issuer attest to the internal control assessment made by the issuer's management. Allows an issuer, in the alternative, to engage separately a different registered public accounting firm to attest to such assessment. (Current law prohibits such separate attestation engagements.)
Prohibits any private right of action against a registered public accounting firm in any federal or state court on the basis of a violation or alleged violation of assessment requirements or standards issued by the Board for purposes of implementing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Status of the Legislation
Latest Major Action: 4/13/2007: Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises.
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