Prior to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), public accounting firms were unregulated. Their activities were monitored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). With the passing of the Act, Congress established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The Board is tasked with the oversight of the public accounting firms for issuer companies and ensuring that SOX legislation is appropriately applied.
Understanding the origin of legislation and authoritative bodies along with their powers is important to complying with the Act. Both the PCAOB and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are important organizations related to Sarbanes-Oxley and their history, powers of authority, and ability to assess sanctions and fines is something that organizations should be integrally familiar with. This course provides a detailed outline of the roles and responsibilities of those organizations as well as related background information.
Information within this course comes from readily available public domain documents and is utilized by the trainer as a supplement for relaying the course content.
Note: The concepts outlined in this course are up to date and relevant in regard to the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. Although there have not been any changes in the legislative concepts of the law since its release in 2002, some aspects of executing the work have evolved. This speaker is preparing a series of courses titled “Sarbanes-Oxley 20 years later”. Those courses can be found individually on the platform and would be beneficial for anyone involved with compliance.
NOTE: The Instructor has created 5 new segments on Sarbanes-Oxley Update - 20 Years Later:
Sarbanes-Oxley Update - 20 Years Later: Accounting Risk Assessment Considerations
Sarbanes-Oxley Update - 20 Years Later: Sourcing Emerging Risks Part 1
Sarbanes-Oxley Update - 20 Years Later: Evaluating Testing Processes
Sarbanes-Oxley Update - 20 Years Later: Sourcing Emerging Risks Part 2
Sarbanes-Oxley Update - 20 Years Later: Examining Fraud Risks
Prerequisites
No Advanced Preparation or Prerequisites are needed for this course.
Learning Objective
- Explore the Authoritative body background
- Explore the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) relationship
- Explore PCAOB History
- Recognize PCAOB responsibilities and authorities
- Explore the timeline of PCAOB Actions
- Recognize the penalties for SOX non-compliance
Last updated/reviewed: July 24, 2025
(118) Reviews
(102 rating)Concise and direct course on the sections 806,902 qnd 906. Direct with great examples of how the sections work
Great presentation to understand the importance of HR within the budgeting and planning process of a Company.
Great summarized course to understand the basics of a Board of Directors structure
I liked the presentation style and supporting slides. Very clear and understandable.
Found this to be the most understandable lesson so far.
Very beneficial and refreshes some of the details for my role being a second line of defense.
This course is a very good material for beginners, but also experienced professionals. It is clearly and accessibly structured with key points brought to attention of the students.
clear course, well structured and explained. It helps a lot to understanding the evolution and how some current practices went live.
Well explained and excellent slides for future use. Well explained and excellent slides for future use.
very clear explanation and important points were highlighted.
Very high level and very repetitive. While it did provide the general intent of ITGCs, the presentation was a unfocused and confusing.
Very interesting course! ..................................................................
very good presentation and helpful and I agree that it will further help me in my work and upgrade my skills and knowledge
Enjoyed this course and the additional insights from the instructor. Very clear and concise concepts. Would highly recommend to organizations or individuals needing more insight to the "SOX World".
I have enjoyed so much this course, which I considered have an invaluable materials and knowledge to use as a permanent reference and to apply in SOX audit duties regularly. Thanks to Lynn for this magnificent and outstanding course because it will help me to achieve my professional goals in my Auditor career :)
Very informative course and great experience provided to learners
I enjoyed getting to now some of the automation areas that are being seen across SOX compliant companies.
I found the slides to be very interesting. Ms. Louis made the slides very engaging.
It is a very lengthy topic. I like it but it would be better if can have more detail of each subsection. Feel like it is not enough and wish to have more examples.
I have completed the course and have no further comments.
Thanks for the very comprehensive course in understanding expectations under SOX standards.
I liked how the course detailed and explained the traits and skills areas.
The course material explain the full scope of the IT and its relation to controls
Very nice summary Very nice summary Very nice summary Very nice summary
Excellent materials, I recommend these documents and the trainer
The material provided are very brief. Kindly provide more explanatory material, most of the content that are provided here are from CIA and Gleim is more straight forward. It should be good to have the same standard.
Amazing course! Very solid material to provide a broad understanding of how Fraud is managed according with SOX.
I liked the course because it introduces you to a short history of the regulations and how they developed over time.
good me gusto a lot, i want to be the best controller
I am a CPA, but have been performing non financial audits for the past decade. This course was a great refresher.
Jim has a great teaching style making it easy to grasp the key concepts for this course. This was a very good refresher for me. Thank you Jim!
I am very happy with the training I received in these modules. I also very much appreciate all the templates and documentation provided in the last module. I know that I will be referring back to this material often in the future.
Enjoyed the course which Is exactly what I was seeking to begin educating myself about SOX and how SOX relates to EA/IA. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise, Lynn!
A lot of material covered but nicely separated by topics.
This excellent course helps and encourages to use healthy scepticism to detect cash related fraud cases.
Material was a little hard to understand and retain. I would have liked more clarification
A helpful, tangible approach on the topic. Judgment and specific company factors play into a conclusion/position. The information within this webinar will be useful.
An excellent course on SOX Section 404! Perhaps a little discussion about what is meant by acceptable level" of risk and who determines it will surely be appreciated by those taking this course
Excellent course, the material and trainer were really clear even for those new in SOX world.
I learned a lot from this course and will highly recommend it!
The training videos was good and understandable. The PPT presented was clear .
These tools will provide assistance in the development and execution of SOX compliance procedures.
Some of the questions in the final contain incorrect information. Otherwise, the course is good.
ExcelLent :) Well-structured and easy to study Text Based Course. Very useful supporting materials. Interesting info.
Dislike: The writing of the exam questions aren't as well written as the rest of the courses.
This a trending topic in current industries and gaining more focus for its use cases and utilization. The course provided a good introduction to this topic.
It was very well structured, well-paced and easy to follow training course. Structuring the course in segments as well as offering a continuous play option is perfect for any learning style. The examples given were good.
This is an excellent SOX topic that I have not previously seen covered before.
Like in other webinars Lynn has, I loved how she goes deep in every slide using examples and/or making great observations for when you are in the process of RA. With that, you can see she is very knowledged in the subject she is teaching about.
The Course was very engaging and provided great examples of real life. The instructor is very enthusiastic and content is to the point.
The course is very informative and covers all necessary topics that are needed to be proficient in the Sarbanes Oxley. I highly recommend this course to individuals who wants to learn and understand SOX.
This was very helpful and I will definitely save these training materials if our department is ever called on to conduct an audit of the network. Currently we also have an Information Security team that is a second line of defense to our Internal Audit team.
Did not understand the section on controversy around Pitt & Webster. Seemed somewhat irrelevant
the course was very insightful and its very applicable to my technology area of practice
Insightful content with short videos which makes it easy to learn.
I would have liked a deeper dive on the SOX Testing Process and IT sections. IT was very general and didn't give a lot of specifics or depth. The control testing didn't even mention IPE. Would have liked more guidance on testing specifics. The background, explanation of legislation, auditing standards, COSO, etc were very beneficial.
Objectives Met, Appropriate requirements, Activties completed
I enjoyed the examples given in this course. These examples helped to bring all of the concepts that I am learning in the certification together!
Great information on PCAOB. Informative and effective
Very meaningful and informative course gives a very good understanding on standard evolution.
Great overview of COSO 2013 and how management is responsible for their internal controls.
The course was adequate but suggest you relook at the questions. The use of not in the questions is very confusing even for the most experienced person. Also your question in the final exam on incentives is poorly worded
Good refresher course to understand the concept of SOX
Very good course, Its good to have a one presentation rather than many
Very Informative. Comprehensive learning. Extensive material provided.
Excellent articulation of COSO 2013 principles that have provided better practical linkage. Only one improvement recommended is to include some more specific examples
Best point: understanding SEC vs PCAOB and AS2 to AS5
Thank you for another great course that introduced the connection of COSO 2013 and fraud.
The tools (resources, downloadable material) in this are incredibly valuable - a great conclusion for this certification program.
Excellent detailed evaluation of top down risk assessment for Sarbanes Oxley.
This was an excellent and engaging course. It gave a simple, but wholistic introduction to the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Looking forward to watching the remaining courses in the certification.
This was the best section in my opinion. It really pulled together the details of each area discussed! The samples and explanations were easily understandable. This section has me feeling more confident!
50 letters required, this course was good. More letters more letters more letters more letters more letters.
Your courses have all been so wonderful, so informational, and so thorough--in short, greatly appreciated by me! Thank you for sharing your expertise, your wealth of knowledge, your inclusion of examples! I have greatly enjoyed reading and listening to all of your lectures thus far.
Great course and very well prepared and explained.
A lot to digest! Terms are essential in understanding concepts.
LOTS of good information! So much actually that I am sure that I need to come back to these slides many times to really understand this thoroughly. There are so many things to be taken into consideration. Good templates and examples.
great course, easy to read and follow along the way the text is written
Overall course contained very good information and history behind the "why?" we do all the work we do
Not all answers were in the slides. Some referred to additional webinars outside of the initial training content.
Thank you so much for this amazing course where I had the opportunity to learn so many interesting things that I will be able to apply in my daily routine.
Well detailed and properly explained concepts on fraud risk assessment. This is a good introduction into Fraud risk assessment and sets the expectations for beginners
i felt that the instructor gave her best effort to capture the new concepts of the standard.
Very helpful, however, too much theoretical information, years, reports
Thanks for this in-depth course. The course material is rich and the delivery, very excellent.
This was a good course. well delivered. Good job .
This course provided great background information regarding the history and need for SOX. It also helps explain the key requirements of SOX currently.
This was a course on Internal Controls! More words are needed to make it informative to my peers.
This entire section is new to me and is very technical. This would be helpful if you need to understand the basics of XBRL.
Excellent full package on SOX and COSO principles with key template to implement process in the organization.
Good review course. This was a solid refresher for something I have been away from for some time.
This course was a little boring solely based on nature of material, good job by Lynn to present boring material
The final module in this marathon of a course - 17 courses yet it was very well delivered and comprehensive. Job well done as I learnt a lot.
Great overview of SOX. look forward to other detailed modules.
Provides a good insight into section 404 requirements
The explanation is very clear, straight to the point.
Very good and simplified course. It serves as a good refresher for people practicing SOX and ICFR only daily basis but serves as a good basis for people just starting to learn SOX.
The course provides a lot of history and information on SEC and PCAOB. I personally believe the course can be more concise.
Course is informative, looks out of date from a presentation perspective when compared to other LMS
This SOX 404 section possess good controls information.
Overall good learning material. the XBRL vs SOX was really good learning in a way that shows link between them.
An important aspect that companies forget to look at because cyber attacks are seldomly experienced by them. Great refresher on how to react to cyber attacks
Simple and very usefulThe simplicity was surprising yet we overlook most of the tasks involved here
I like the material a lot. It gives a brief summary of SOX and its significance in a very concise manner. This is very brief introduction to anyone who wants the first level information on SOX compliance before going into a indepth understanding.
Awesome course, covers the process for ensuring that SOX controls are documented and tested as necessary. Materiality piece was great as well.
I have been working in the SOX/404 area of my internal audit department for a number of years and knew a lot of this at a certain (and varying) level/s - this course showed me where I need to focus more and filled in more gaps than I knew I had!
This course was excellent and provided important information that I will utilize in the future.
Excellent overview about temporary differences, very useful examples and exercises
Good, clear explanation of control activities with a more in-depth look at each principle and POF. The concepts are easy to understand with great examples provided.
this was alot of work but the slides and seminars made it much easier
Great course specially regarding the differences between application controls and general controls.
This course is full of a lot of technical information. At times I found it hard to follow, but still finished having learned enough to have a reasonable understanding of the topic.
This is a great overview of XBRL - I found it very technical having not covered the topic before but still managed to understand enough to pass the test. Lynn's presentation was clear and demonstrated her expertise in this area.
Great information! Easy to understand and overall meaningful content....
Good information, easy to understand. Overall enjoyed the whole course.
Very Good and Informative Refresher for Accounting Professionals.
Very informative
Excellent overview!
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