Accounting

Put Some Fox In Your SOX – Three Wily Ways To Meet Compliance Challenges

Sly like a fox ̶ OK, maybe it’s a myth, but wouldn’t we all like to work smarter and in more clever ways, to out run ever present deadlines while still meeting stringent SOX compliance regulations? For accounting pros, it’s an especially tough chase to find the right tools and processes that get us down into the foxhole, confident we’ve successfully completed all the tasks necessary to protect our organizations from nefarious hunters.

So enough with the analogy ̶ let’s consider the reality we all face in meeting SOX compliance regulations. There is simply not one easy way to make this happen, even in light of new technologies and software. Still, there are shrewder approaches to becoming and remaining SOX compliant, and then to enforce and validate that compliance moving forward.

Development of internal controls are key, and they involve a combination of processes and people, as well as technology. They help to automate manual chores, track activities and document successful compliance. Consider these critical steps:

1. Define workflows: Creating repeatable workflows enable the addition of process structure and deliver necessary oversight.
2. Articulate tasks: Defining clear team member responsibilities and then tracking dependencies and progress add clarity and accountability.
3. Document data access and accuracy: Providing full visibility to, and verification of, such things as information access, change authority and accuracy of data supply necessary substantiation.

These are just three crafty ways to get your organization on the trail to SOX compliance. But is it sounding like their implementation may be harder than their articulation? FloQast can assist with your specific challenges.

Take a look at our recent tech brief: SOX Compliance: There’s No Magic Wand, but Close Management Software Can Help. It’s a quick and easy read, and will show you graphically how close management software technology can help ease the compliance burden.

Michael Whitmire

As CEO and Co-Founder, Mike leads FloQast’s corporate vision, strategy and execution. Prior to founding FloQast, he managed the accounting team at Cornerstone OnDemand, a SaaS company in Los Angeles. He began his career at Ernst & Young in Los Angeles where he performed public company audits, opening balance sheet audits, cash to GAAP restatements, compilation reviews, international reporting, merger and acquisition audits and SOX compliance testing. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Syracuse University.