SOX: delaying reports, boosting costs, curbing shelters.

• Position: National

Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) requirements is delaying the release of annual reports of hundreds of public companies, boosting costs, and curbing abusive tax shelters, according to recent news reports.

Nearly 300 publicly traded companies have announced that annual reports will be filed late due to SOX compliance requirements, up from 70 this time last year, according to The Washington Post. Many of the companies blamed Section 404 requirements for the delay.

Costs of complying with SOX continue to skyrocket, according to a recent Financial Executives International survey. The average cost of compliance for the 217 companies surveyed jumped 132 percent in 2004, from a forecasted $1.9 million to $4.4 million, according to the Financial Times.

SOX may also...