Audit fees surge after SOX.

• Position: Survey Says - Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act - Brief Article

As the Sarbanes-Oxley Act begins to be implemented, some effect already is being felt.

Auditing fees soared 27 percent on average in the last year for companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index, according to law firm Foley & Lardner, which tracks such fees.

The firm found that fees are increasing four times the typical yearly increase. For example, Georgia Pacific, a paper and forest products firm, saw its 2002 audit fees rise $18.7 million, to $20.9 million; Pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb saw its...