Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society
Exhibits
July 30, 2012 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: The First Decade: Michael Oxley, Mark Beasley and Paul Sarbanes

Jenner & Block LLP logo: simple, black text
This exhibit was made possible by the generous support of Jenner & Block LLP.
July 2017

15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT

July 30, 2017 marked the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), legislation responding to high-profile financial scandals in several major public companies. Congressional interest began in late 2001 with investigative hearings into Enron Corporation's accounting practices. The working relationship between the external accounting firm and company management had become collusive, and massive fraud was revealed.

In the spring of 2002, on the heels of the Enron debacle, additional financial frauds were uncovered in public companies, including Worldcom and Adelphia, further rocking the U.S. capital markets and profoundly undermining public confidence in the system of investor protection. This spurred definitive legislative action. With near unanimous, bi-partisan approval in the House and Senate, SOX was signed into law on July 30, 2002.

Among other changes, SOX resulted in new corporate governance requirements for companies and boards, new independence rules for external auditors, and a new regulator - the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board -- for accounting firms conducting audits of public companies.


Video Perspectives

collage showing faces of the interviewees of the following videos
CAQ Logo

The videos are provided courtesy of the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ).


SOX and the Future
SOX Investor Confidence
SOX Classroom Teaching
SOX Audit Quality
SOX Financial Reporting

A text alternative of the videos is available in a single PDF file. Download transcripts of the videos.


Highlights from the Museum and Archive

Papers

January 25, 2001
image pdf (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, Enron Exhibits)
Summer 2001
image pdf (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, Enron Exhibits)
August 14, 2001
image pdf (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, Enron Exhibits)
October 3, 2001
image pdf (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, Enron Exhibits)
October 22, 2001
image pdf (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, Enron Exhibits)
October 23, 2001
image pdf (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, Enron Exhibits)
November 14, 2001
image pdf (Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, Enron Exhibits)
February 1, 2002
image pdf (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration)
February 1, 2002
image pdf (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration)
March 21, 2002
image pdf (Courtesy of Kathryn McGrath)
July 5, 2002
image pdf (Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration)
July 30, 2002
document pdf (Government Records)
August 30, 2002
image pdf (Courtesy of National Archives)
June 5, 2003
image pdf (Courtesy of National Archives)
Winter 2003
document pdf (Courtesy of Theodore Levine)
June 2, 2004
document pdf (prepared for the museum by Harvey L. Pitt)

Photos

November 2001
Fall 2002
Paul Atkins, Cynthia Glassman, Harvey L. Pitt, Harvey Goldschmid and Roel Campos
June 9, 2005
June 6, 2006
July 30, 2012
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: The First Decade
October 16, 2012
Deloitte Fireside Chat VII: The Profession Looks at Sarbanes-Oxley
November 15, 2012

Oral Histories

21 May 2015

David Becker

31 May 2013

Alan Beller

13 April 2015

Roel Campos

21 November 2005

Cynthia Glassman

17 June 2013

Harvey Goldschmid

10 December 2010

Donald Nicolaisen

Made possible through the support of ASECA - Association of SEC Alumni, Inc.
09 March 2012

Michael Oxley

11 May 2007

Harvey Pitt - Part I

Video: 18.46

From 1968 to 1978, Harvey Pitt served on the staff of the SEC, eventually becoming the agency's youngest-ever General Counsel in 1975 at age 30. From 2001 - 2003 he was the 26th SEC Chairman. For nearly 25 years prior to serving as SEC Chairman, Mr. Pitt was a partner in the law firm, Fried, Frank LLP. After he left the SEC, he founded the strategic consulting firm, Kalorama Partners, LLC. He was a founding trustee and first President of the SEC Historical Society.

12 May 2008

Harvey Pitt - Part II

06 May 2015

Giovanni Prezioso

10 September 2013

Linda Chatman Thomsen

Programs

15 November 2012

A Measured Response?

Moderator: Robert K.D. Colby
Presenter(s): Daniel Goelzer, Peggy Peterson, Dean Shahinian, Linda Chatman Thomsen
16 October 2012

Deloitte Fireside Chat VII: The Profession Looks at Sarbanes-Oxley

Moderator: Mark Peecher
Presenter(s): Alan Beller, Joseph Ucuzoglu
30 July 2012

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: The First Decade

Moderator: Mark Beasley
Presenter(s): Michael Oxley, Paul Sarbanes
Made possible through the support of the Center for Audit Quality
16 October 2007

Fireside Chat - Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404

Moderator: Theresa Gabaldon
Presenter(s): Kurt Schacht, Herbert Wander
06 June 2006

Who's Counting? - The Critical Role of Financial Reporting in the Capital Markets (Seventh Annual Meeting)

Moderator: Robert Kueppers
Presenter(s): Pat McConnell, Donald Nicolaisen, Aulana Peters, Lawrence Salva, Scott Taub

Permission for Use

The virtual museum and archive is copyrighted by the SEC Historical Society. The Society reserves the right to restrict access to or use of the museum by any user at any time.

Users are prohibited from sharing or downloading any material for publication or commercial purposes without written permission from the Executive Director. Requests for permission must be submitted by email and specify the material requested and for what purpose.

Material used with the Society's permission should be credited to: www.sechistorical.org.