Sarbanes-Oxley

Sarbanes-Oxley SXO Act

The Sarbanes-Oxley was passed in response to recent corporate and accounting scandals involving some of the largest publicly traded companies in the country.

The Sarbanes Oxley act relates to laws on document retention, how long certain documents should be kept, and when document shredding is actually illegal.

One of its provisions provides for criminal penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment and fines up to $10 million for anyone who:

    “. . . knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under [Bankruptcy Code], or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case. §802 of SOX which added §1519 to 18 USC.”


Part of the importance of the SOX acts relate to knowing your document retention requirements, and basing your document destruction schedules around them.

More on Sarbanes-Oxley
http://www.soxtoolkit.com/
http://www.sarbanes-oxley-forum.com/
http://www.perkinscoie.com/content/ren/updates/corp/093003.htm