Overview

H. W. Andrews once said, While an open mind is priceless, it is priceless only when its owner has the courage to make a final decision which closes the mind for action after the process of viewing all sides of the question has been completed. Failure to make a decision after due consideration of all the facts will quickly brand a man as unfit for a position of responsibility. Not all of your decisions will be correct. None of us is perfect. But if you get into the habit of making decisions, experience will develop your judgment to a point where more and more of your decisions will be right. After all, it is better to be right 51% of the time and get something done, than it is to get nothing done because you fear to reach a decision.

This quote applies to this chapter for three fundamental reasons:

• An inordinate amount of decisions must be made as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) compliance process.

• As the quote states, None of us is perfect ; it is inevitable that mistakes will be made.

• The auditors are still unclear of what truly constitutes SOX compliance.

Based on the preceding points, some people would wonder if SOX compliance was actually achievable, and some would say, Why bother? The following is a summary of the major reasons why you should obtain SOX compliance:

• Exposure to the possibility of lawsuits and negative publicity.

• If a corporate officer unintentionally files an...