News from U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe
Chair, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
For Immediate Release: July 11, 2006
Contact:  Chris Chichester, 202-228-5843

 Snowe Continues Fight To Ensure Fairness For Small Businesses Under Sarbanes-Oxley

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, released the following statement regarding today’s announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has developed a “concept release” that will determine how small businesses will comply with the regulatory requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act:

“I applaud the SEC for acknowledging today that the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley regulations have the potential to be ‘unduly costly’ for small businesses. While Congress passed Sarbanes-Oxley with my support to deter criminal acts by corporations and their accounting firms, I have repeatedly cautioned the SEC against imposing onerous regulations on law-abiding small businesses.   

“Small business owners in Maine and throughout the country remain unsure if they will be required to meet the Act’s existing regulations set to take effect next year, or comply with new regulations that could hurt their ability to create jobs and compete in the global marketplace.   I strongly urge the SEC to consider the vast differences in the size and scope of American businesses throughout the Sarbanes-Oxley public comment period.  The agency can and must adopt clear and unambiguous Sarbanes-Oxley rules with due regard for small businesses and their limited resources.”

In May Senator Snowe released a Government Accountability Office report she requested on the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on small businesses.  The report found small business compliance costs for the Act’s internal controls requirements were disproportionately higher than larger businesses, an increase in companies going private to avoid compliance costs, and a considerable increase in audit fees since the passage of the Act, which include hiring more staff or paying for outside consultants.

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