The Final Rule: Retention of Records Showing Relevance Towards Audits and Reviews

Overview: As mandated by section 802 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("Sarbanes-Oxley Act" or "the Act"), the committee is amending Regulation S-X to require accountants who audit or review an issuer's financial statements to retain certain records relevant to that audit or review. These records include workpapers and other documents that form the basis of the audit or review, and memoranda, correspondence, communications, other documents, and records (including electronic records), which are created, sent or received in connection with the audit or review, and contain conclusions, opinions, analyses, or financial data related to the audit or review. To coordinate with forthcoming auditing standards concerning the retention of audit documentation, the rule requires that these records be retained for seven years after the auditor concludes the audit or review of the financial statements, rather than the proposed period of five years from the end of the fiscal period in which an audit or review was concluded. As proposed, the rule addresses the retention of records related to the audits and reviews of not only issuers' financial statements but also the financial statements of registered investment companies.

(Is this item miscategorized? Does it need more tags? Let us know.)

Format: HTML | Date: Jan 2003 | Pages: 1