Heritage Foundation Leadership for America

Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium

An act of Congress moved the world’s financial center from New York to London. In the wake of the corporate accounting scandals at Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing and other companies, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) designed to shield investors from corrupt and predatory businesses. SOX mandated wide-sweeping accounting changes for all public companies doing business in the U.S. The law included some needed reforms, but went too far. Since becoming law, most new stock offerings are done through London instead of New York. Small businesses are especially hard hit by section 404. As a result, Congressman Tom Feeney has introduced bipartisan legislation, H.R. 5404, to reduce the burdens of section 404 and restore the competitiveness of American businesses. Join us as we discuss the effects of section 404, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 overall, on small businesses and what changes can be made to restore America’s leadership in the world’s capital markets.