OVERVIEW

This last chapter is being written as we enter 2005, which is when many companies began their Section 404 compliance. People have asked me why I am writing a book on Sarbanes-Oxley. They say that "it's going to be over with and all the questions will be answered." Teaching my Sarbanes-Oxley compliance workshop has been interesting, fun, and revealing. Looking back, I am seeing a new era of governance unfold, together with strong attitudes on the rigors of compliance testing relative to Section 404. Much of the attitude on the part of accountants who have been working hard on the program is "Just get us compliant. We want to be done with this stuff so we can go do our job." This attitude also seems to emanate from CPAs and other consultants who have been called in to shoulder the load of getting public companies compliant.

The prevailing attitude seems to be "your glass is either half empty or half full." This attitude represents a widespread shortcoming within organizations and their management teams. Management is hard work, and creating better companies takes time and effort. Better organizations will not evolve from the latest management fad or just plugging in technology and software. My answer to better management, better organizations, and profitable compliance is performance management that encompasses building better business processes. In fact, the journey to performance improvement and reliable financial reporting is a process in itself. The examples used in previous chapters included Dell and General Electric. I...