Managing Sarbanes-Oxley Requirements

Companies that are serious about encouraging ethical business practices will approach this issue like they have addressed the harassment issue in the past few decades. Best practice companies established clear policies for zero tolerance of any form of harassment, educated their people on how to promote a harassment-free work environment and dealt expeditiously with issues as they arose. By implementing such a comprehensive approach to harassment, companies were able to reduce the incidence of harassment in the work place and minimize their exposure to expensive litigation.

Over the course of 2003, we expect many corporations to respond in a similar way to building a culture that values ethical business behavior. The four key best practices are:

• Develop guidelines on appropriate business practices;
• Communicate those guidelines to employees and offer regular training to educate people and reinforce how business should be conducted;
• Establish a comprehensive and convenient process for employees to raise concerns to senior management and, as required by Sarbanes-Oxley, the audit committee; and
• Implement policies to effectively address issues as they arise.

Web-based tools, with their ready availability, always-on nature, and relatively low cost to customize and deliver, will offer many companies an effective way to address and manage these new requirements and best practices. This article will cover how Web-based tools can help promote ethical business practices and, in turn, comply with requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.