Dave, I had thought that Sarbanes-Oxley only applied to publicly traded corporations, but your previous writing and personal communication seems to imply that it also applies to closely-held ones. Is that right? Can you point me to a URL or other easy to find reference that explains just what SOx requires of small companies?

Ah, there’s little that’s generated more trouble and discussion in the world of business - particularly business finance - than Sarbanes-Oxley, a rigorous new accounting standard that requires corporations to track and report their financial results in new and, frankly, more complex ways. I’ve written about Sarbanes-Oxley before, for background reading.

So if Sarbanes-Oxley is targeted to public, publicly traded companies, why does it affect privately held companies or even startups?

A good question and one that can be answered with two words near and dear to any investors heart…