Sarbanes-Oxley Ongoing Compliance Guide: Key Processes and Summary Checklists

Right-Sizing Best Practices

In year three of compliance and beyond, companies should shift their focus from implementation to sustainability and adopt tools and practices that will facilitate the right-sizing of their existing compliance program through increased efficiency and streamlined business processes. Consider the following when defining the scope of your compliance efforts and building a sustainable, cost-effective process.

Outsourcing

Now that all processes have been formally and thoroughly documented, many organizations are in a better position to look closer at process improvements options such as outsourcing. Once viewed as primarily a tactical, cost-cutting measure, outsourcing has matured into a sophisticated and proven business process improvement measure that can also improve the control environment and streamline compliance activities. Outsourcing a specific process or function such as Accounts Payable or Accounts Receivable can strengthen a deficient or weak control environment by enhancing segregation of duties and increasing control automation. Outsourcing select processes to the appropriate partner can provide an organization with a method of reducing ongoing compliance costs through greater efficiency as well as reducing risk. In addition, outsourcing can provide a greater process visibility, enhance control, and ensure the accuracy of financial statements.

Currently, the leading outsource providers are very sophisticated and offer high quality, efficiency, ...