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Sarbanes-Oxley (Sox) has created a nice little cottage industry of consultants helping companies to comply with its requirements. The regulators can be excused, for as the recent case at Parmalat proves, the contagion of poor governance and executive greed runs deep. This article provides an overview of the key Sox requirements where companies need external help to ensure compliance, and also the offerings on the market.

By Mukul Pareek

Sarbanes-Oxley generates many revenue earning opportunities for consultants, outsourcers and offshorers. This article contains a quick analysis of the various provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, the work they generate for companies, and which of these could be created as a consulting or outsourcing offering by external service providers. It covers concepts of corporate governance, internal control & COSO, and the offerings currently available in the market offering compliance with Sox.

The overall approach I followed is as follows:

1. Obtain an overall understanding of Sarbanes-Oxley,
2. Look at various individual Sarbanes-Oxley provisions with a view to identifying any potential opportunities to provide a service,
3. Examine in detail the Sox requirements that could have such a potential,
4. Review the nature of the extra work these provisions will generate for US corporations,
5. Consider what current Sox 'solution providers' are offering in the market,

The detailed article is in .pdf format and can be downloaded here:


Summary of Sox requirements and the potential for external service providers:


For more details, download the article using the link above.