SOX deadline set to hit

On Monday morning the world will be a more compliant place if Sarbanes-Oxley legislation is effective in forcing US-listed businesses to get their houses in order.

For months the talk has been of audit trails, transparency and liability but come Monday 15 November businesses will be forced to practice what has been preached with section 404 of the Act coming into effect.

Section 404 refers to the retention and archiving of data in an auditable format - attempting to rule out the possibility of creative accounting or deals being completed 'on the QT' - by communication methods such as email or instant messenger.

The corporate scandals at Enron and WorldCom rocked the world markets and from the moment the shredders first whirred into action legislators were hammering out regulation to help prevent such scandals in the future.

Mark Strauch, COO of compliance management company Business Engine, who includes companies such as Merril Lynch and Deutsche Bank among its client list, said: "No one wants to see another Enron - the markets just won't tolerate it. Putting internal systems and processes in place takes much effort and preparation, but increased regulation is here to stay, and businesses have to adapt."

Understand more about Sarbanes-Oxley by reading our Cheat Sheet.