Sarbanes Oxley Competence Course Outline
Purpose of course: The purpose of this course is to make the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 understandable and, in doing so, help public companies not only comply with the law but also improve financial controls as well as financial performance. The course is for those who have a vested interest in understanding this law and what it means to ones financial well being, to one’s job security and, literally, to one’s freedom. This would include anyone who is employed by or invests in a publicly owned company in the U.S. as well as those who provide professional services to these companies and advice to the investing public.
The course consists of 7 self-paced lessons, each of which has an interactive self-test at the end of the lesson. The lessons must be done in sequence to obtain a completion certificate. Also a passing grade of at least 80% must be obtained on each of the lesson tests before proceeding to the next lesson. A robust glossary and a navigable copy of the Sarbanes Oxley Act itself are included. The product of the course is a student completion who understands the purpose and importance of the Sarbanes Oxley Act; how it applies to his/her company and his/her job; what is needed for compliance with the law; and how this compliance can improve financial controls and enhance performance.
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Lesson One – Financial Report Basics Defines each of the three main financial statements required of public corporations. Interactive Quiz – 80% required - automatically flag content for review based on questions missed. The student will understand the purpose and function of the Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. It is these and related financial reports that the Sarbanes Oxley Act seeks to regulate in publicly owned companies.
Lesson Two - Purpose of Sarbanes Oxley Act “To protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes.” Defines each key term of the purpose and illustrates the term Interactive Quiz – 80% required - automatically flag content for review based on questions missed. The student will thoroughly understand the purpose of the Sarbanes Oxley Act – each and every term in its stated purpose and the purpose as a whole.
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Lesson Three - What problem does Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) seek to solve? The Problem - Illustrate Corporate Statistics and “Expert” Advice - Illustrate Corporate Financial Reports – Illustrate Reporting Accuracy - Illustrate Accounting Standards and Reporting - Illustrate Rules of the game and the Players – Illustrate The Policemen (Regulatory Agencies) - Illustrate Penalties – Illustrate The Real Solution – Financial Literacy - Illustrate Interactive Quiz – 80% required - automatically flag content for review based on questions missed. The student will thoroughly understand the background and events that led to the demand for increased regulation of Financial Reporting and the passage of the Sarbanes Oxley Act. The major players in the game of publicly owned companies are identified along with their respetive roles in the game.
Lesson Four – 11 Titles – purpose of each Purpose of each title Summary of content Interactive Quiz – 80% required - automatically flag content for review based on questions missed. The student will thoroughly understand the purpose of each on the 11 titles of the Sarbanes Oxley Act and will have a good grasp of the content of each of these titles. The student will thus be able to intelligently discuss the major sections of the act with anyone and answer overall questions about the act.
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Lesson Five – 66 Sections – summary of each Summary of content of each section Interactive Quiz – 80% required - automatically flag content for review based on questions missed. The student will have a good grasp of the content of each of the 66 sections of the Act, what specific problem is addressed by each and what rules and penalties have been enacted. The student will be able to see his/her role in ensuring compliance with the act.
Lesson Six – Section 302 Executive Certification of Financial Statements The Rules Illustrate the Rules Sample solution – interactive graphic and drill Interactive Quiz – 80% required - automatically flag content for review based on questions missed. The student will understand the importance of accurate financial reports and the urgency of ensuring that his/her contributory reports to management are completely accurate and factual.
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Lesson Seven – Section 404 Documentation of Financial Controls The Rules Illustrate the Rules Sample solution – interactive graphic and drill Interactive Quiz – 80% required - automatically flag content for review based on questions missed. The students, by increasing their overall knowledge of the act and detailed knowledge of the key rules will increase their responsibility to assist management at all levels in ensuring the company’s financial operating and reporting practices are efficient and accurate. It is postulated that this will not only put the company in compliance with the law but will also help improve performance.
Course Supplemental Tools AAA The Full Act as Passed by Congress Readable Navigable Searchable Cross Linked to Glossary Robust Glossary of key terms cross referenced to the relevant sections in the ACT. Web based free Glossary Glossary will also be on the CD References and Useful Links
Note: This is a summary used as a guideline for Competence Software’s development team. The course itself is interactive with graphics, drills and quizzes It contains several hours of self-paced, self-administered content similar to Financial Competence and Investment Competence – see downloadable sample lessons of these courses at www.competencesoftware.net . The course is currently in prototype testing and scheduled for release January – 2006.
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