The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday dismissed months of lobbying on the part of business entities, and said it would not exempt small public businesses from key provisions within 2002’s Sarbanes-Oxley Act, The Washington Post reports.Under Sarbanes-Oxley, it’s mandated that all companies document the internal controls in place to prevent the mismanagement or manipulation of financial documents, and they’re also required to hire an external auditor to confirm those controls are efficient. The act was passed in response to the high-profile Enron accounting fraud scandal of the early 2000s, in which investors were bilked out of billions of dollars.Since the act’s inception, business owners and lawmakers alike have questioned whether it should be applied to small or mid-sized public enterprises the same way it is to larger firms, according to the Post. Many such critics have requested that the SEC exempt small businesses completely, the Post reports.In response, the SEC has decided to give the smallest firms a few additional months to be in compliance with the act, according to the Post. Christopher Cox, SEC chairman, told the Post the commission will not release the proposed final rules for another few months due to their complex nature; however, the SEC did outline the basic rules so that companies would know there would be no exemptions for small firms. Even with the extension, all public companies will need to start documenting their internal controls by the middle of December, according to the Post. The SEC will release a guidance to executives with small firms so as little time and money as possible will be wasted on compliance efforts, and to clarify how companies of varying size can meet the act’s requirements based on their specific situations, the Post reports. Cox told the Post, “The ultimate objective is to improve the quality of financial statements.”Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo news Alteryx works in generative AI for speedy analytics results OpenAI integration and AI wizardry for report generation are aimed at making Alteryx’s analytics products more accessible. By Jon Gold May 25, 2023 3 mins Analytics Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe