Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Improving Internal Controls to Prevent Fraud [Hardcover]

Scott Green (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0471569755 | ISBN-13: 978-0471569756 | Edition: 1

Need help ensuring your campany complys with Sarbanes-Oxley? Armed with this hands-on guide, you can detect early signs of fraud and operational loss, and safeguard your job, your employees' jobs, and the long-term success of your company. Don't let fraud derail your career. Protect yourself with the fail-safe Control Smart method found in Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Order your copy today!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"In the complex new world of Sarbanes-Oxley, it isrefreshing to read a book that has comprehensive answers for general managerswanting to do the right thing."—Jim Balsillie, CEO of Research in Motion

"Scott Green has provided us with a book on managementcontrols that is as engaging as it is illuminating. I enthusiasticallyrecommend this book to managers of financial institutions of any size."—John Duffy, Chairman of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

"Recent, widely publicized business failures and accountingdeficiencies that were a contributing cause make a strong case for acomprehensive system of controls, such as those proposed in Scott Green'sbook."—Orval Hansen, Former U.S. Congressman

"A necessary read for any director, executive, or line managerwho is serious about monitoring the health of their internal controlstructure."—Holly Gregory, Partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges

"A must-read . . . is the chapter on the 'Control Smart'approach. This chapter, which will clearly help businesses monitor themselves,covers all the key factors necessary to 'erase vulnerabilities anderect a strong [control environment] defense,' ranging from pinpointing comingthreats and knowing your vulnerabilities to protecting your business andmonitoring its health."—Herman A. Berliner, PhD Provost and Senior VicePresident for Academic Affairs, Lawrence Herbert Distinguished ProfessorHofstra University

Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
In reaction to high-profile frauds and congressional legislation, the SECmandated that managers of public companies certify that they have anoperational system of internal controls. While larger companies can afford tospend millions of dollars to implement control system monitoring tools,managers of small to mid-sized companies can be unsure of how to move forwardif their budgets can't accommodate expensive advisors and systems. Manager'sGuide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act provides a highly accessible, simple, andpractical approach to help you assess your internal control structure at thetransaction level.

Designed to be "a cure for the Sarbanes-Oxley headache andcommon fraud," Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act introduces thegroundbreaking and practical "Control Smart" approach that not only meets therequirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, but also alerts you if operational controlsstop working or are otherwise compromised. This simple template helps youidentify and understand operational threats, and guides you through acomprehensive evaluation of your system of internal controls to mitigate theserisks.

Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act features:

• A razor-sharp method to monitor the opera- tional risks inherent in your business
• Numerous real-world examples illustrating how to avoid common pitfalls, such as those faced by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Adelphia Communications, and Bridgestone Corporation (Firestone)
• Case studies and vignettes highlighting the personalities at Enron and Tyco who enabled a fraudulent corporate culture, as well as what one person did right to reveal the smoke-and-mirrors accounting practiced at WorldCom
• Clear, jargon-free coverage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and how it affects you

Armed with this hands-on guide, you can detect early signsof fraud and operational loss, and safeguard your job, your employees' jobs,and the long-term success of your company. Don't let fraud derail your career.Protect yourself with the fail-safe Control Smart method found in Manager'sGuide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

About the Author

SCOTT GREEN, CPA, is the Global Head of Audit and Compliance for Weil, Gotshal & Manges, one of the largest law firms in the world and a leader in the practice of corporate governance. A graduate of the University of Idaho and the Harvard Business School, he is a recognized expert on management controls with more than fifteen years of experience in the field. He has also taught finance and banking at Hofstra University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (February 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471569755
• ISBN-13: 978-0471569756
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,900 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Readable and informative starting point, July 10, 2004

By 

Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Improving Internal Controls to Prevent Fraud (Hardcover)

I've read a number of books and literally thousands of web pages of information about Sarbanes-Oxley, and have to rank this book as the best starting point for stakeholders who are peripherally involved in compliance. The reasons are:

(1) It's readable! This is not a dry, boring tome, but a highly readable summary of Sarbanes-Oxley, what it is (and isn't), and realistic examples and anecdotes to reinforce the material.
(2) It covers a surprisingly lot of ground for a book aimed at a non-practitioner audience. The Control Smart Framework, detailed advice on identifying threats and vulnerabilities, and how to protect yourself are invaluable to anyone directly or indirectly involved in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

In addition to the rich information and clear explanations of key elements of Sarbanes-Oxley I like the appendices, which also provide useful information - especially appendices B (Key Performance Indicator Reporting), C (Examples of Key Performance Indicators) and D (Control Activities).

This book will quickly get you up-to-speed about Sarbanes-Oxley and its ramifications, and will do so relatively painlessly compared to other books on the basics of the Act.

If you're looking for a more in-depth book, especially one that addresses the scope and complexity of Section 404 compliance, I highly recommend "How to Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404: Assessing the Effectiveness of Internal Control (ISBN 0471653667). If you are an IT professional I strongly recommend visiting Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ASIN B00006BW74), which makes available a free 84-page document titled "IT Control Objectives for Sarbanes-Oxley". For more general information, there is a commercial site that provides news and updates on Sarbanes-Oxley issues (ASIN B0000AM23N), as well as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (ASIN B00013Y80Y), which provides rule making information and a means to comment on proposed rules. You can reach these sites by pasting the ASIN numbers in the search box at the top of this page, selecting all products and clicking GO.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Busting the Sarbanes-Oxley myths!, September 26, 2004

By 

Dave Kinnear "Executive Leader Coach" (Lake Forest, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Improving Internal Controls to Prevent Fraud (Hardcover)

Boards of all shapes and sizes are wondering about the affect that Sarbanes-Oxley act will have upon their operations, accountability, and liability. But what about the managers running the day-to-day operations? Mr. Green kept his promise to "introduce groundbreaking and practical 'Control Smart' approach that not only meets the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, but also alerts you if operational controls stop working or are otherwise compromised."

While larger companies can afford to spend millions of dollars to implement control system monitoring tools, managers of small to mid-sized companies can be unsure of how to move forward if their budgets can't accommodate expensive advisors and systems. Mr. Green tells us in a forthright and clear manner that we must not depend on others to audit accountability into our reporting systems any more than we are able to test reliability or quality into our products. He places responsibility for our transparent transactions squarely on the shoulders of every manager and every employee throughout the organization.

The "Control Smart" approach to understanding where we need to make transformational changes and where we can live with transitional changes is easy to understand even as it is complex and difficult to execute. But we must all attempt to do so. Green insists that we can "walk our talk by taking the culture of our companies seriously. We are able to create positive values as company objectives and appropriately compensate those who uphold the company image." In this well written book, you will find the answer to just what it is that managers today need to do to implement the spirit and the law of Sarbanes-Oxley.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Manager's guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act - Scott Green, July 22, 2004

By 

Robert Mast (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Improving Internal Controls to Prevent Fraud (Hardcover)

This book is a must read in the era of Sarbanes-Oxley. As numerous companies are currently immersing themselves into Sarbanes-Oxley testing, they may question the necessity and cost to their organization and shareholders. All they have to do is read this book which delivers real world examples set forth by the author which makes for extremely interesting and fast reading. I intend to make this required reading for all my staff.