

[Federal Register: July 18, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 137)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 40865-40873]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18jy06-18]                         


[[Page 40865]]

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Part IV





Securities and Exchange Commission





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17 CFR Part 240



Concept Release Concerning Management's Reports on Internal Control 
Over Financial Reporting; Proposed Rule


[[Page 40866]]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

17 CFR Part 240

[Release No. 34-54122; File No. S7-11-06]
RIN 3235-AJ58

 
Concept Release Concerning Management's Reports on Internal 
Control Over Financial Reporting

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; Concept Release; request 
for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is publishing this Concept Release to 
understand better the extent and nature of public interest in the 
development of additional guidance for management regarding its 
evaluation and assessment of internal control over financial reporting 
so that any guidance the Commission develops addresses the needs and 
concerns of public companies, consistent with the protection of 
investors.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before September 18, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/concept.shtml.
); or     Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 

File Number S7-11-06 on the subject line; or
     Use the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov
). Follow the instructions for submitting comments.


Paper Comments

     Send paper submissions in triplicate to Nancy M. Morris, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number S7-11-06. This file number 
should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To help us 
process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one 
method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission's 
Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/concept.shtml). Comments 

also are available for public inspection and copying in the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20549. All comments received will be posted without change; we do not 
edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lillian Brown, Division of Corporation 
Finance or Michael Gaynor, Office of Chief Accountant, Securities and 
Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Introduction
III. Risk and Control Identification
IV. Management's Evaluation
V. Documentation to Support the Assessment
VI. Solicitation of Additional Comments

I. Background

    Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 \1\ directed the 
Commission to prescribe rules that require each annual report that a 
company, other than a registered investment company, files pursuant to 
section 13(a) or 15(d) \2\ of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 \3\ 
to contain an internal control report: (1) Stating management's 
responsibilities for establishing and maintaining adequate internal 
control structure and procedures for financial reporting; and (2) 
containing an assessment, as of the end of the company's most recent 
fiscal year, of the effectiveness of the company's internal controls 
and procedures for financial reporting. On June 5, 2003, the Commission 
adopted rules published at 68 FR 36636, June 18, 2003, implementing 
section 404 with regard to management's obligations to report on 
internal control over financial reporting.
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    \1\ 75 U.S.C. 7262.
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 78m(a) or 78o(d).
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.
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    Domestic reporting companies that meet the definition of 
``accelerated filer'' under the Commission's rules were required to 
comply with the internal control reporting provisions for the first 
time in connection with their fiscal years ending on or after November 
15, 2004. Foreign private issuers that meet the definition of 
accelerated filer must comply with those provisions for their first 
fiscal year ending on or after July 15, 2006. On September 22, 2005, in 
a document published at 70 FR 56825, September 29, 2005, the Commission 
postponed the compliance date for domestic and foreign non-accelerated 
filers until their first fiscal years ending on or after July 15, 2007.
    On May 17, 2006, the Commission announced through a press release 
its intent to issue an additional postponement for compliance for non-
accelerated filers. As announced in that press release, the Commission 
expects to propose an additional extension of the dates for complying 
with our internal control over financial reporting requirements for 
companies that are non-accelerated filers, including foreign private 
issuers that are non-accelerated filers.
    Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as the Commission's rules 
adopted to implement the requirements of that section of the Act, 
require every registered public accounting firm that prepares or issues 
a financial statement audit report for a company also to attest to and 
report on management's assessment of internal control over financial 
reporting, in accordance with standards to be established by the Public 
Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). On June 17, 2004, the 
Commission issued an order approving PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 2, 
``An Audit of Internal Control over Financial Reporting Performed in 
Conjunction with an Audit of the Financial Statements'' (AS No. 2), 
published at 69 FR 35083, June 23, 2004, which established the 
requirements that apply when an independent auditor is engaged to 
provide an attestation and report on management's assessment of the 
effectiveness of a company's internal control over financial reporting.
    In the release adopting the Commission's rules implementing section 
404, we expressed our belief that the methods of conducting assessments 
of internal control over financial reporting will, and should, vary 
from company to company.\4\ We continue to believe that it is 
impractical to prescribe a single methodology that meets the needs of 
every company. However, we have received feedback that the limited 
nature and extent of detailed management guidance available has 
resulted in management's implementation and assessment efforts being 
driven largely by AS No. 2. Therefore, we are planning to issue 
additional guidance to assist management in its performance of its 
assessment of internal control over financial reporting. On May 17, 
2006, we announced, among other things, our intent to issue this 
Concept Release seeking comment on a variety of issues that might be 
the subject of Commission guidance for management. As we noted in that 
announcement, in writing any guidance we will be sensitive to the fact

[[Page 40867]]

that many companies already have invested substantial resources to 
establish and document programs and procedures to perform their 
assessments over the last few years.
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    \4\ See SEC Final Rule: Management's Reports on Internal Control 
over Financial Reporting and Certification of Disclosure in Exchange 
Act Periodic Reports, Release No. 34-47986 (June 5, 2003) [68 FR 
36636, June 18, 2003] (hereinafter ``Adopting Release'') at Section 
II.B.3.d.
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II. Introduction

    Based on the cumulative feedback received since the adoption of the 
rules implementing section 404, the Commission deems it necessary to 
issue additional guidance for management on its assessment of the 
effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. We 
currently anticipate that the guidance issued would be in the form of a 
rule, which would address the topics that we have outlined in this 
Concept Release: Risk and control identification, management's 
evaluation, and documentation requirements (each of these topics is 
addressed separately throughout the remainder of this document). 
Additionally, we anticipate that the rule would be written in such a 
manner that if companies followed the rule, they would be deemed to 
have complied with Rules 13a-15(c) and 15d-15(c) of the Exchange Act. 
Further, we anticipate any modifications to AS No. 2 would be 
consistent with the rule.
    The Commission is publishing this Concept Release to solicit public 
comment on the provision of additional guidance to management of public 
companies that are subject to the SEC's rules related to management's 
assessment of internal control over financial reporting and, to assist 
the Commission so that any guidance it ultimately develops addresses 
the needs and concerns of all public companies. We raise a series of 
questions throughout this release on assessing risks, identifying 
controls, evaluating effectiveness of internal control, and documenting 
the basis for the assessment. Through the questions in this Concept 
Release, we seek to elicit specific public comment on such matters 
including, but not limited to, the extent and nature of public interest 
in the development of additional management guidance, whether 
additional guidance would be useful for all reporting companies or just 
a subset of those companies, the particular subject areas that any 
additional guidance should address, and the extent of additional 
guidance that would be useful.
    Since the Commission adopted rules in June 2003 to implement 
section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, companies and third parties have 
devoted considerable attention to the methods that management may use 
to assess the effectiveness of internal control over financial 
reporting. To date, many public companies have developed their own 
assessment procedures internally. Many also have retained consultants 
or purchased commercial software and other products to establish or 
improve their assessment procedures. When the Commission first adopted 
the internal control over financial reporting requirements, we 
emphasized two broad principles: (1) That the scope and process of the 
assessment must be based on procedures sufficient both to evaluate its 
design and to test its operating effectiveness; \5\ and (2) that the 
assessment, including testing, must be supported by reasonable 
evidential matter.\6\ We stated that it was important for each company 
to use its informed judgment about its own operations, risks, and 
processes in documenting and evaluating its controls. We continue to 
believe that management must bring its own experience and informed 
judgment to bear in designing an assessment process that meets the 
needs of its company and that provides reasonable assurance as to 
whether the company's internal control over financial reporting is 
effective.
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    \5\ See Adopting Release at Section II.B.3.d.
    \6\ See Adopting Release at Section II.B.3.d.
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    While we emphasized the concept of management flexibility in 
adopting our rules implementing section 404, our rules do require 
management to base its assessment of a company's internal control on a 
suitable evaluation framework, in order to facilitate comparability 
between the assessment reports. It is important to note that our rules 
do not mandate the use of a particular framework, because multiple 
frameworks exist and others may be developed in the future. However, in 
the release adopting the Section 404 requirements, the Commission 
identified the Internal Control--Integrated Framework created and 
published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway 
Commission (COSO) as an example of a suitableframework.7 8
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    \7\ See COSO, Internal Control-Integrated Framework (1992). In 
1994, COSO published an addendum to the Reporting to External 
Parties volume of the COSO Report. The addendum discusses the issue 
of, and provides a vehicle for, expanding the scope of a public 
management report on internal control to address additional controls 
pertaining to safeguarding of assets. In 1996, COSO issued a 
supplement to its original framework to address the application of 
internal control over financial derivative activities.
    The COSO framework is the result of an extensive study of 
internal control to establish a common definition of internal 
control that would serve the needs of companies, independent public 
accountants, legislators, and regulatory agencies, and to provide a 
broad framework of criteria against which companies could evaluate 
and improve their control systems. The COSO framework divides 
internal control into three broad objectives: effectiveness and 
efficiency of operations, reliability of financial reporting, and 
compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Our rules relate 
only to reliability of financial reporting. Each of the objectives 
in the COSO framework is further broken down into five interrelated 
components: control environment, risk assessment, control 
activities, information and communication, and monitoring. Under the 
COSO framework, management is able to monitor, evaluate, and improve 
their control systems through the use of the five components.
    \8\ In that release, we also cited the Guidance on Assessing 
Control published by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants 
and the Turnbull Report published by the Institute of Chartered 
Accountants in England & Wales as examples of other suitable 
frameworks that issuers could choose in evaluating the effectiveness 
of their internal control over financial reporting. We encourage 
companies to examine and select a framework that may be useful in 
their own circumstances and the further development of alternative 
frameworks.
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    While the COSO framework provides an integrated framework that 
identifies the components and objectives of internal control, it does 
not set forth detailed guidance as to the steps that management must 
follow in assessing the effectiveness of a company's internal control 
over financial reporting. We, therefore, distinguish between the COSO 
framework as an internal control framework and other forms of guidance 
that illustrate how to conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of 
internal control over financial reporting. Any additional management 
guidance that we may issue is not intended to replace or modify the 
COSO framework or any other suitable framework.
    In determining the need for additional guidance to management on 
how to conduct its assessment, it is important to consider the steps 
that already have been taken by the Commission and others to provide 
guidance to companies and audit firms. The Commission held its first 
roundtable discussion about implementation of the internal control 
reporting provisions on April 13, 2005. The Commission held the 2005 
roundtable to seek input to consider the impact of the section 404 
reporting requirements in view of the fact that the

[[Page 40868]]

implementation of the requirements resulted in a major change for 
management and auditors. A broad range of interested parties, including 
representatives of managements and boards of domestic and foreign 
public companies, auditors, investors, legal counsel, and board members 
of the PCAOB, participated in the discussion. We also invited and 
received written submissions from the public regarding section 404 in 
advance of the roundtable.
    Feedback obtained from the 2005 roundtable indicated that the 
internal control reporting requirements had led to increased focus by 
management on internal control over financial reporting. However, the 
feedback also identified particular implementation areas in need of 
further clarification to reduce unnecessary costs and burdens without 
jeopardizing the benefits of the new requirements.
    In response to this feedback, the Commission and its staff issued 
guidance on May 16, 2005.\9\ An overarching message of that guidance 
was that it is the responsibility of management, not the auditor, to 
determine the appropriate nature and form of internal controls for the 
company and to scope their evaluation procedures accordingly. 
Additionally, based on feedback received, a number of the 
implementation issues arose from an overly conservative application of 
the Commission rules and AS No. 2, and the requirements of AS No. 2 
itself, as well as questions regarding the appropriate role of the 
auditor. Accordingly, much of the guidance in the staff statement 
emphasized and clarified existing provisions of the rules and other 
Commission guidance relating to the exercise of professional judgment, 
the concept of reasonable assurance, and the permitted communications 
between management and auditors.
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    \9\ Commission Statement on Implementation of Internal Control 
Reporting Requirements. Press Release No. 2005-74 (May 16, 2005) 
(hereinafter ``May 2005 Commission Guidance''); Division of 
Corporation Finance and Office of Chief Accountant: Staff Statement 
on Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 
(May 16, 2005) (hereinafter ``May 2005 Staff Guidance'') available 
at SEC.gov/spotlight/soxcom/.htm.
    Also on May 16, 2005, the PCAOB and its staff issued guidance to 
auditors on their audits under Auditing Standard No. 2. The PCAOB's 
guidance focused on areas in which the efficiency of the audit could 
be substantially improved. Topics included the importance of the 
integrated audit, the role of risk assessment throughout the 
process, the importance of taking a top-down approach, and auditors' 
use of the work of others.
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    The staff's guidance addressed implementation issues in the 
following seven areas:
     The purpose of internal control over financial reporting;
     The concept of reasonable assurance, the importance of a 
top-down, risk-based approach, and scope of testing and assessment;
     Evaluating internal control deficiencies;
     Disclosures about material weaknesses;
     Information technology issues;
     Communications with auditors; and
     Issues related to small businesses and foreign private 
issuers.
    Overall, the May 16, 2005 guidance was well-received, and some 
commenters have indicated there has been some improvement in the 
effectiveness and efficiency of section 404 compliance efforts. 
However, some constituents, especially smaller public companies, 
continue to request the provision of additional guidance. For example, 
in its Final Report to the Commission, issued on April 23, 2006, the 
Commission's Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies raised a 
number of concerns it perceived regarding the ability of smaller 
companies to comply cost-effectively with the requirements of section 
404. The Advisory Committee identified as an overarching concern the 
difference in how smaller and larger public companies operate. The 
Advisory Committee focused in particular on three characteristics: (1) 
The limited number of personnel in smaller companies constrains the 
companies' ability to segregate conflicting duties; (2) top 
management's wider span of control and more direct channels of 
communication increase the risk of management override; and (3) the 
dynamic and evolving nature of smaller companies limits their ability 
to maintain well-documented static business processes.\10\
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    \10\ Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Smaller Public 
Companies to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission 
(April 23, 2006) (hereinafter ``Advisory Committee Report'') at 35-
36, available at http://SEC.gov/info/smallbus/acspc.shtml.

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    The Advisory Committee suggests these characteristics create unique 
differences in how smaller companies achieve effective internal control 
over financial reporting that may not be adequately accommodated in AS 
No. 2 or other implementation guidance as currently applied in 
practice.\11\ In addition, the Advisory Committee noted serious cost 
ramifications for smaller public companies stemming from the cost of 
frequent documentation change and sustained review and testing for 
perceived compliance with section 404.
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    \11\ Advisory Committee Report at 37, available at http://SEC.gov/info/smallbus/acspc.shtml
.

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    The Advisory Committee's final report set forth several 
recommendations for the Commission to consider regarding the 
application of the section 404 requirements to smaller public 
companies. The Advisory Committee recommended partial or complete 
exemptions for specified types of smaller public companies from the 
internal control reporting requirements under certain conditions, 
unless and until a framework is developed for assessing internal 
control over financial reporting that recognizes the characteristics 
and needs of those companies. The Advisory Committee also recommended, 
among other things, that COSO and the PCAOB provide additional guidance 
to help facilitate the design and assessment of internal control over 
financial reporting and make processes related to internal control more 
cost-effective.\12\ In addition, some commenters on the Advisory 
Committee's exposure draft of its report suggested that the Commission 
reexamine the appropriate role of outside auditors in connection with 
the management assessment required by Section 404.\13\
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    \12\ Advisory Committee Report at 52, available at http://SEC.gov/info/smallbus/acspc.shtml
.

    \13\ See, e.g., letter from BDO Seidman, LLP (April 3, 2006), 
available at http://SEC.gov/info/smallbus/acspc.shtml.

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    Further, in April 2006, the U.S. Government Accountability Office 
issued a Report to the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate, entitled Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 
Consideration of Key Principles Needed in Addressing Implementation for 
Smaller Public Companies, which recommends that in considering the 
concerns of the Advisory Committee, the Commission should assess the 
available guidance on management's assessment to determine whether it 
is sufficient or whether additional action is needed. The report 
indicates that management's implementation and assessment efforts were 
largely driven by AS No. 2, as guidance at a similar level of detail 
was not available for management's implementation and assessment 
process.\14\ Further, the GAO report recommended that the Commission 
coordinate with the PCAOB to help ensure that the section 404-related 
audit standards and guidance are consistent with any

[[Page 40869]]

additional management guidance issued.\15\
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    \14\ United States Government Accountability Office Report to 
the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate: 
Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Consideration of Key Principles Needed in 
Addressing Implementation for Smaller Public Companies (April 2006) 
(hereinafter ``GAO Report'') at 52-53.
    \15\ GAO Report at 58.
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    On May 10, 2006, the Commission and PCAOB conducted a second 
Roundtable on Internal Control Reporting and Auditing Provisions to 
solicit feedback on accelerated filers' second year of compliance with 
the section 404 requirements. Although some participants expressed 
reservations about changing the processes they have already 
implemented, a number of the participants expressed at the roundtable 
and in their written comments the view that additional guidance was 
needed.\16\
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    \16\ See transcript of Roundtable on Internal Control Reporting 
and Auditing Provisions, May 10, 2006, Panels 1, 2, 3, and 5; letter 
from The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) (May 1, 2006); letter 
from Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) (May 4, 2006); letter 
from Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) (April 28, 2006); letter 
from Deloitte & Touche LLP (May 1, 2006); letter from Ernst & Young 
LLP (May 1, 2006); letter from KPMG LLP (May 1, 2006); letter from 
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (May 1, 2006) and letter from Pfizer Inc. 
(May 1, 2006).
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    COSO plans to publish additional application guidance on its 
control framework in the near future.\17\ This guidance is intended to 
assist the management of smaller companies in understanding and 
applying the COSO framework. It is expected that COSO's new guidance 
will outline principles fundamental to the five components of internal 
control described in the COSO framework. The guidance will define each 
principle and describe the attributes of each, list a variety of 
approaches that smaller companies can use to apply the principles, and 
include examples of how smaller companies have applied the principles. 
As noted in the May 17, 2006 announcement, we anticipate that this 
guidance will help organizations of all sizes to better understand and 
apply the COSO framework as it relates to internal control over 
financial reporting.
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    \17\ See letter from Larry Rittenberg, COSO (May 16, 2006) [File 
Number 4-511].
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    We are issuing this Concept Release to understand better the extent 
of public interest in the development of additional guidance for 
management regarding its evaluation and assessment of internal control 
over financial reporting. As noted in our May 17, 2006 announcement, so 
that this guidance might be helpful to all companies, the Commission 
currently intends that any future guidance we issue will be scalable 
and responsive to individual circumstances. We also are interested in 
understanding what additional guidance accelerated filers would find 
helpful.\18\
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    \18\ We emphasize that the publication of this Concept Release 
does not reflect a general dissatisfaction by the Commission with 
the assessments accelerated filers have completed to date. Rather, 
we are issuing this Concept Release because we are committed to 
doing as much as we can to reduce any concerns about the nature and 
extent of assessment procedures that management must establish and 
maintain, to assist in making the requirements scalable for 
companies of all sizes and complexity, and to help companies 
evaluate internal control over financial reporting in a practical 
and cost-efficient manner.
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    1. Would additional guidance to management on how to evaluate the 
effectiveness of a company's internal control over financial reporting 
be useful? If so, would additional guidance be useful to all reporting 
companies subject to the Section 404 requirements or only to a sub-
group of companies? What are the potential limitations to developing 
guidance that can be applied by most or all reporting companies subject 
to the section 404 requirements?
    2. Are there special issues applicable to foreign private issuers 
that the Commission should consider in developing guidance to 
management on how to evaluate the effectiveness of a company's internal 
control over financial reporting? If so, what are these? Are such 
considerations applicable to all foreign private issuers or only to a 
sub-group of these filers?
    3. Should additional guidance be limited to articulation of broad 
principles or should it be more detailed?
    4. Are there additional topics, beyond what is addressed in this 
Concept Release, that the Commission should consider issuing guidance 
on? If so, what are those topics?
    5. Would additional guidance in the format of a Commission rule be 
preferable to interpretive guidance? Why or why not?
    6. What types of evaluation approaches have managements of 
accelerated filers found most effective and efficient in assessing 
internal control over financial reporting? What approaches have not 
worked, and why?
    7. Are there potential drawbacks to or other concerns about 
providing additional guidance that the Commission should consider? If 
so, what are they? How might those drawbacks or other concerns best be 
mitigated? Would more detailed Commission guidance hamper future 
efforts by others in this area?
    8. Why have the majority of companies who have completed an 
assessment, domestic and foreign, selected the COSO framework rather 
than one of the other frameworks available, such as the Turnbull 
Report? Is it due to a lack of awareness, knowledge, training, pressure 
from auditors, or some other reason? Would companies benefit from the 
development of additional frameworks?
    9. Should the guidance incorporate the May 16, 2005 ``Staff 
Statement on Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial 
Reporting''? Should any portions of the May 16, 2005 guidance be 
modified or eliminated? Are there additional topics that the guidance 
should address that were not addressed by that statement? For example, 
are there any topics in the staff's ``Management's Report on Internal 
Control Over Financial Reporting and Certification of Disclosure in 
Exchange Act Periodic Reports Frequently Asked Questions (revised 
October 6, 2004)'' \19\ that should be incorporated into any guidance 
the Commission might issue?
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    \19\ Available at http://www.sec.gov/info/accountants/controlfaq1004.htm
.

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    10. We also seek input on the appropriate role of outside auditors 
in connection with the management assessment required by section 404(a) 
of Sarbanes-Oxley, and on the manner in which outside auditors provide 
the attestation required by section 404(b). Should possible 
alternatives to the current approach be considered and if so, what? 
Would these alternatives provide investors with similar benefits 
without the same level of cost? How would these alternatives work?

III. Risk and Control Identification

    While companies have been required to establish and maintain 
internal accounting controls since the enactment of the Foreign Corrupt 
Practices Act in 1977,\20\ section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act re-
emphasized the importance of the relationship between effective 
internal controls and reliable financial reporting. An integral element 
of establishing and maintaining effective internal control over 
financial reporting involves identifying risks to reliable financial 
reporting and designing appropriate internal controls that address the 
risks. The controls that management identifies as addressing risks to 
financial reporting include those that operate at a company level and 
are pervasive to many individual account balances and disclosures, as 
well as those that are specific to certain individual account balances 
or disclosures. Echoing the Commission's statement in its May 16, 2005 
guidance that management must bring reasoned judgment to the process, 
the staff stated

[[Page 40870]]

that management should use its cumulative knowledge, experience, and 
judgment (applying both qualitative and quantitative factors) in 
identifying these controls and designing the appropriate procedures for 
their documentation and testing.
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    \20\ Title I of Public Law No. 95-213. The FCPA required the 
Commission to adopt rules requiring public companies to make and 
keep accurate financial records, and to maintain a system of 
internal accounting controls. See Exchange Act section 13(b).
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    Feedback that the Commission has received indicates that, in 
implementing the requirements of section 404, many companies did not 
efficiently and effectively identify risks to reliable financial 
reporting and relevant internal control functions, ultimately leading 
to the identification, documentation, and testing of an excessive 
number of controls.\21\ We are also skeptical of the large number of 
internal controls that some companies have identified, documented and 
tested. While there were likely numerous contributing factors to these 
implementation issues, one cause may have been the overly conservative 
application of AS No. 2 by auditors in the initial years.
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    \21\ See transcript of Roundtable on Internal Control Reporting 
and Auditing Provisions, May 10, 2006, Panels 2 and 3; letter from 
Protiviti Inc. (April 28, 2006); letter from Computer Sciences 
Corporation (CSC) (April 28, 2006); and letter from IMA (May 4, 
2006).
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    The Commission also has heard that companies had difficulty in 
determining how controls related to the prevention of fraud should be 
included in their risk assessment.\22\ However, as noted in the May 16, 
2005 staff guidance, while no system of internal control can prevent or 
detect every instance of fraud, effective internal control over 
financial reporting can help companies deter fraudulent financial 
accounting practices or detect them earlier.
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    \22\ See letter from QUALCOMM Inc. (April 27, 2006); and letter 
from Diane Allen, 3M (Allen) (April 28, 2006).
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    As noted above, the Advisory Committee observed that the distinct 
characteristics of smaller public companies affect the financial 
reporting risks and the controls needed to address them. For example, 
the significant risk of management override that arises from wider 
spans of control and more direct channels of communication may create 
an increased need for entity level controls and board oversight. 
Moreover, the difficulty in segregating duties and changing business 
processes may impact the implementation of internal controls at these 
companies.
    We anticipate additional guidance in this area would cover a number 
of the implementation issues that have arisen during the first two 
years of compliance. Guidance issued in this area would address how 
management should determine the overall objectives for internal control 
over financial reporting and identify the related risks. In determining 
the objectives for internal control over financial reporting, the 
guidance would discuss how management might address company-level, 
financial statement account and disclosure level considerations, as 
well as fraud risks. Additionally, we anticipate that we would provide 
additional guidance on how management identifies the controls to 
address the recognized risks. This would include guidance on common 
issues that exist in identifying controls (e.g. materiality 
considerations, multi-location issues, concept of ``key'' controls).
    11. What guidance is needed to help management implement a ``top-
down, risk-based'' approach to identifying risks to reliable financial 
reporting and the related internal controls?
    12. Does the existing guidance, which has been used by management 
of accelerated filers, provide sufficient information regarding the 
identification of controls that address the risks of material 
misstatement? Would additional guidance on identifying controls that 
address these risks be helpful?
    13. In light of the forthcoming COSO guidance for smaller public 
companies, what additional guidance is necessary on risk assessment or 
the identification of controls that address the risks?
    14. In areas where companies identified significant start-up 
efforts in the first year (e.g., documentation of the design of 
controls and remediation of deficiencies) will the COSO guidance for 
smaller public companies adequately assist companies that have not yet 
complied with section 404 to efficiently and effectively conduct a risk 
assessment and identify controls that address the risks? Are there 
areas that have not yet been addressed or need further emphasis?
    15. What guidance is needed about the role of entity-level controls 
in evaluating and assessing the effectiveness of internal control over 
financial reporting? What specific entity-level control issues should 
be addressed (e.g., GAAP expertise, the role of the audit committee, 
using entity-level controls rather than low-level account and 
transactional controls)? Should these issues be addressed differently 
for larger companies and smaller companies?
    16. Should guidance be given about the appropriateness of and 
extent to which quantitative and qualitative factors, such as 
likelihood of an error, should be used when assessing risks and 
identifying controls for the entity? If so, what factors should be 
addressed in the guidance? If so, how should that guidance reflect the 
special characteristics and needs of smaller public companies?
    17. Should the Commission provide management with guidance about 
fraud controls? If so, what type of guidance? Is there existing private 
sector guidance that companies have found useful in this area? For 
example, have companies found the 2002 guidance issued by the AICPA 
Fraud Task Force entitled ``Management Antifraud Programs and 
Controls'' \23\ useful in assessing these risks and controls?
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    \23\ Management Antifraud Programs and Controls: Guidance to 
Help Prevent and Deter Fraud, commissioned by the Fraud Task Force 
of the American Institute of Certified Public Accounting's Auditing 
Standards Board (2002), available at http://www.aicpa.org/download/members/div/auditstd/AU-00316.PDF
.

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    18. Should guidance be issued to help companies with multiple 
locations or business units to understand how those affect their risk 
assessment and control identification activities? How are companies 
currently determining which locations or units to test?

IV. Management's Evaluation

    As noted, the Commission's and the staff's May 16, 2005 guidance 
emphasized that management's assessment should be based on the 
particular risks of individual companies, and recommended a top-down, 
risk-based approach to determine the accounts and related processes 
that management should consider in its assessment. Therefore, 
management's judgments about the significance and complexity of the 
risk areas it has identified should form the basis not only for 
determining what controls to evaluate, but also for determining the 
nature, timing, and extent of its evaluation procedures. A risk-based 
evaluation can allow management to assess whether the company's 
internal control over financial reporting is effective at a 
``reasonable assurance'' level.\24\
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    \24\ See Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act.
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    One of the reasons cited most frequently by accelerated filers for 
the higher than anticipated costs in their first year of compliance 
with the section 404 requirements is that too much work was done to 
test and document low-risk areas.\25\ The Commission continues to hear 
that management has difficulty applying a top-down, risk-based

[[Page 40871]]

approach in their individual assessments and some believe that 
compliance costs are, and may continue to be, higher than 
necessary.\26\
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    \25\ See transcript of Roundtable on Internal Control Reporting 
and Auditing Provisions, May 10, 2006, Panels 2 and 3; letter from 
Watson Wyatt Worldwide (March 31, 2006); letter from QUALCOMM Inc. 
(April 27, 2006); and letter from Association for Financial 
Professionals (May 1, 2006).
    \26\ See transcript of Roundtable on Internal Control Reporting 
and Auditing Provisions, May 10, 2006, Panels 1 and 2; letter from 
Pfizer Inc. (May 1, 2006); letter from Sotheby's Holdings, Inc. (May 
1, 2006); and letter from U.S. Chamber of Commerce (May 3, 2006).
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    The Commission's rules require that management's assessment be ``as 
of'' the company's fiscal year end, but the rules do not preclude 
management from obtaining evidence to support its assessment through 
cumulative knowledge it acquires throughout the year and in prior 
years. In fact, management's daily interactions with its internal 
controls may provide it with an enhanced ability to make informed 
judgments regarding the areas that present the greatest risk to the 
reliability of the financial statements, as well as how to evaluate the 
relevant controls. We have heard anecdotal evidence that, in some 
cases, management may have unnecessarily tested controls using separate 
evaluation-type testing in connection with its annual assessment, 
rather than relying on its ongoing monitoring activities, which may 
include, for example, cumulative knowledge and experiences from its 
daily interactions with controls.
    In addition to testing, another key part of management's assessment 
process is the evaluation of control deficiencies it discovers in the 
process of its evaluation. Paramount to evaluating the significance of 
an individual control deficiency, or combination of control 
deficiencies, is to have a comprehensive understanding of the nature of 
the deficiency, its cause, the relevant financial statement assertion 
the control was designed to support, its effect on the broader control 
environment, and whether effective compensating controls exist.\27\ 
Management must exercise judgment in a reasonable manner in the 
evaluation of deficiencies in internal control, considering both 
quantitative and qualitative factors.\28\
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    \27\ See May 2005 Staff Guidance at B.
    \28\ Id.
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    As noted above, the Advisory Committee observed that the distinct 
characteristics of smaller public companies affect the assessment of 
financial reporting risks and the controls implemented to address them. 
These characteristics may also affect how those companies evaluate 
their internal control.
    Another area where the Commission continues to hear that companies 
are having difficulty in completing their assessment of internal 
control over financial reporting involves the impact of information 
technology (IT) processes. For example, some commenters have expressed 
concerns over the extent to which IT processes should be included in 
the scope of their assessment.\29\ As the staff's May 16, 2005 staff 
guidance indicates, Section 404 is not a one-size-fits-all approach to 
assessing controls, and for that reason, while we believe that controls 
not related to internal control over financial reporting should not be 
included in the assessment, providing a list of the exact general IT 
controls that should be included in an assessment may not be practical. 
Given that fact, we would like to explore whether there are specific 
areas related to IT where additional guidance could be provided.
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    \29\ See transcript of Roundtable on Internal Control Reporting 
and Auditing Provisions, May 10, 2006, Panels 2 and 3; letter from 
IIA (May 1, 2006); letter from CSC (April 28, 2006); letter from 
Allen (April 28, 2006); letter from WPS Resources Corp. (May 5, 
2006); and letter from R.G. Scott & Associates, LLC (April 8, 2006).
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    Based on the cumulative feedback received, we believe that guidance 
on management's evaluation process and revisions to AS No. 2 may help 
reduce or eliminate the excessive testing of internal controls by 
improving the focus on risk and better use of entity-level controls. We 
anticipate that the guidance would cover topics such as the overall 
objective of evaluation procedures; methods or approaches available to 
management to gather evidence to support its assessment (i.e. on-going 
monitoring, benchmarking, and updating prior evaluations); and factors 
that management should consider in determining the nature, timing and 
extent of its evaluation procedures. This guidance would address 
whether and how entity-level controls may adequately address risk at 
the financial statement and disclosure level and considerations as to 
the extent information technology general controls are included in the 
scope of management's assessment. Further, we anticipate the guidance 
would cover considerations of management in determining the severity of 
an identified control deficiency.
    19. What type of guidance would help explain how entity-level 
controls can reduce or eliminate the need for testing at the individual 
account or transaction level? If applicable, please provide specific 
examples of types of entity-level controls that have been useful in 
reducing testing elsewhere.
    20. Would guidance on how management's assessment can be based on 
evidence other than that derived from separate evaluation-type testing 
of controls, such as on-going monitoring activities, be useful? What 
are some of the sources of evidence that companies find most useful in 
ongoing monitoring of control effectiveness? Would guidance be useful 
about how management's daily interaction with controls can be used to 
support its assessment?
    21. What considerations are appropriate to ensure that the guidance 
is responsive to the special characteristics of entity-level controls 
and management at smaller public companies? What type of guidance would 
be useful to small public companies with regard to those areas?
    22. In situations where management determines that separate 
evaluation-type testing is necessary, what type of additional guidance 
to assist management in varying the nature and extent of the evaluation 
procedures supporting its assessment would be helpful? Would guidance 
be useful on how risk, materiality, attributes of the controls 
themselves, and other factors play a role in the judgments about when 
to use separate evaluations versus relying on ongoing monitoring 
activities?
    23. Would guidance be useful on the timing of management testing of 
controls and the need to update evidence and conclusions from prior 
testing to the assessment ``as of'' date?
    24. What type of guidance would be appropriate regarding the 
evaluation of identified internal control deficiencies? Are there 
particular issues in evaluating deficient controls that have only an 
indirect relationship to a specific financial statement account or 
disclosure? If so, what are some of the key considerations currently 
being used when evaluating the control deficiency?
    25. Would guidance be helpful regarding the definitions of the 
terms ``material weakness'' and ``significant deficiency''? If so, 
please explain any issues that should be addressed in the guidance.
    26. Would guidance be useful on factors that management should 
consider in determining whether management could conclude that no 
material weakness in internal control over financial reporting exists 
despite the discovery of a need to correct a financial statement error 
as part of the financial statement close process? If so, please 
explain.
    27. Would guidance be useful in addressing the circumstances under 
which a restatement of previously reported financial information would 
not lead to the conclusion that a material weakness exists in the

[[Page 40872]]

company's internal control over financial reporting?
    28. How have companies been able to use technology to gain 
efficiency in evaluating the effectiveness of internal controls (e.g., 
by automating the effectiveness testing of automated controls or 
through benchmarking strategies)?
    29. Is guidance needed to help companies determine which IT general 
controls should be tested? How are companies determining which IT 
general controls could impact IT application controls directly related 
to the preparation of financial statements?
    30. Has management generally been utilizing proprietary IT 
frameworks as a guide in conducting the IT portion of their 
assessments? If so, which frameworks? Which components of those 
frameworks have been particularly useful? Which components of those 
frameworks go beyond the objectives of reliable financial reporting?

V. Documentation to Support the Assessment

    Developing and maintaining an appropriate amount of evidential 
matter is an inherent element of effective internal control.\30 \This 
evidential matter should provide reasonable support for the assessment 
of whether controls are designed to prevent or detect material 
misstatements or omissions; for the conclusion that tests to assess the 
effectiveness of internal control were appropriately planned and 
performed; and for the conclusion that the results of such tests were 
appropriately considered in management's conclusion about 
effectiveness.\31\ Further, public accounting firms that attest to, and 
report on, management's assessment of the effectiveness of the 
company's internal control over financial reporting may review 
evidential matter supporting management's assessment.\32\
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    \30\ Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act requires companies 
to ``make and keep books, records, and accounts, which in reasonable 
detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and 
dispositions of the assets of the issuer.'' We have previously 
stated, as a matter of policy, that under section 13(b)(2) ``every 
public company needs to establish and maintain records of sufficient 
accuracy to meet adequately four interrelated objectives: 
appropriate reflection of corporate transactions and the disposition 
of assets; effective administration of other facets of the issuer's 
internal control system; preparation of its financial statements in 
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; and proper 
auditing.'' Statement of Policy Regarding the Foreign Corrupt 
Practices Act of 1977, Release No. 34-17500 (January 29, 1981) [46 
FR 11544].
    \31\ Instruction 1 to Item 308 of Regulations S-K and S-B, 
Instruction 1 to Item 15 of Form 20-F and Instruction 1 to 
paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) of General Instruction B.6 to Form 
40-F provide that ``the Registrant must maintain evidential matter, 
including documentation, to provide reasonable support for 
management's assessment of the effectiveness of the registrant's 
internal control over financial reporting.''
    \32\ AS No. 2 sets forth the criteria auditors should use when 
evaluating whether management's documentation provides reasonable 
support for its assessment of internal control over financial 
reporting. See ]] 42-46 of PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 2, An Audit 
of Internal Control over Financial Reporting Performed in 
Conjunction with an Audit of Financial Statements.
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    Feedback that the Commission received in connection with its 2005 
Roundtable and other feedback on the first year of compliance indicates 
that, in implementing the requirements of section 404 for the first 
time, many companies approached risk and control identification more 
formally than they may have historically and, consequently, companies 
may have incurred significant documentation costs.\33\ This 
documentation consisted of, among other things, detailed process maps 
describing controls over initiating, recording, processing and 
reconciling account balances, classes of transactions, and disclosures 
included in the financial statements. Many companies also have 
indicated that in their initial implementation of section 404, too many 
controls were identified, which resulted in excessive 
documentation.\34\ Frequently, this excessive documentation was blamed, 
at least in part, on the auditors and their application of AS No. 2. 
Further, we have anecdotally heard that this documentation, in many 
cases, substantially exceeded that normally produced by financial 
institutions under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
Improvement Act of 1991,\35\ notwithstanding substantially similar 
statutory language to that found in section 404.
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    \33\ See transcript of Roundtable on Implementation of Internal 
Control Reporting Provisions, April 13, 2005; letter from Mortgage 
Bankers Association (February 25, 2005); letter from Paula Jourde 
(March 4, 2005); letter from White Mountains Insurance Group (March 
29, 2005); and letter from Intel Corporation (March 31, 2005).
    \34\ See transcript of Roundtable on Internal Control Reporting 
and Auditing Provisions, May 10, 2006, Panels 1 and 2; letter from 
IIA (May 1, 2006); letter from America's Community Bankers (May 1, 
2006); letter from Stephan Stephanov (March 27, 2006); and letter 
from Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (March 
28, 2006).
    \35\ 12 U.S.C. 1831m. Section 112 of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 added section 36, 
``Independent Annual Audits of Insured Depository Institutions,'' to 
the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Section 36 required the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation, in consultation with appropriate 
federal banking agencies, to promulgate regulations requiring each 
insured depository institution with at least $150 million in total 
assets, as of the beginning of its fiscal year, to have an annual 
independent audit of its financial statements performed in 
accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, and to 
provide a management report and an independent public accountant's 
attestation concerning both the effectiveness of the institution's 
internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting 
and its compliance with designated safety and soundness laws.
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    In its report, the Advisory Committee suggested that smaller public 
companies have unique characteristics and needs for flexibility that 
make the documentation elements of section 404 particularly burdensome 
for those companies. In its opinion, the section 404 internal control 
reporting requirements as currently applied in practice might impose a 
lack of flexibility on smaller public companies that would put them at 
a competitive disadvantage. We have also heard that excessive 
documentation demands might impose extra or particularly burdensome 
costs on smaller public companies.
    The Commission anticipates that management would benefit from 
additional guidance on the appropriate and required levels of 
documentation to support their assertion on the effectiveness of 
internal control over financial reporting. Topics addressed might 
include clarifying the overall objectives of the documentation, 
including factors that might influence documentation requirements and 
other common documentation concerns (e.g. updating of previously 
created documentation or how to address controls for which operation 
does not result in documented evidence). We also anticipate that 
guidance might be helpful in addressing the flexibility and cost 
containment needs of smaller public companies in particular.
    31. Were the levels of documentation performed by management in the 
initial years of completing the assessment beyond what was needed to 
identify controls for testing? If so, why (e.g., business reasons, 
auditor required, or unsure about ``key'' controls)? Would specific 
guidance help companies avoid this issue in the future? If so, what 
factors should be considered?
    32. What guidance is needed about the form, nature, and extent of 
documentation that management must maintain as evidence for its 
assessment of risks to financial reporting and control identification? 
Are there certain factors to consider in making judgments about the 
nature and extent of documentation (e.g., entity factors, process, or 
account complexity factors)? If so, what are they?
    33. What guidance is needed about the extent of documentation that 
management must maintain about its evaluation procedures that support 
its

[[Page 40873]]

annual assessment of internal control over financial reporting?
    34. Is guidance needed about documentation for information 
technology controls? If so, is guidance needed for both documentation 
of the controls and documentation of the testing for the assessment?
    35. How might guidance be helpful in addressing the flexibility and 
cost containment needs of smaller public companies? What guidance is 
appropriate for smaller public companies with regard to documentation?

VI. Solicitation of Additional Comments

    In addition to the areas for comment identified above, we are 
interested in any other issues that commenters may wish to address 
relating to companies' compliance with the SEC's rules related to 
management's assessment of internal control over financial reporting. 
For example, we are interested in whether commenters believe that there 
are additional topics not addressed in this Concept Release for which 
guidance would be useful. We also invite commenters to provide to us 
descriptions of, or actual process plans, that they have utilized or 
created for portions or all of management's assessment. Please be as 
specific as possible in your discussion and analysis of any additional 
issues. Where possible, please provide empirical data or observations 
to support or illustrate your comments.

    By the Commission.

    Dated: July 11, 2006.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-11226 Filed 7-17-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
