Sarbanes-Oxley: will it add to the finance department's role in marketing?

• Position: Marketing News

Implementation of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act may accelerate a trend toward greater involvement by finance in the marketing department, predicts a software vendor.

Bank marketing departments in recent months have been receiving more inquiries directly from the finance department, observes Ken Kornbluh, CEO of MarketingPilot Software LLC, in Evanston, Ill. The company sells marketing information systems to several types of clients, including large banks. "In addition, we are increasingly seeing involvement by the finance department in the expense management and forecasting activities of bank marketing departments."

Sarbanes-Oxley, which was implemented in June and affects public companies, will put more pressure on bank marketing departments to track actual and forecast expenses with great accuracy and accountability, Kornbluh projects. "You can bet that if marketing blows the forecast, and the stock price dives, shareholders are going to want blood--the CEO isn't going to eat crow because the vice president of marketing can't count."

Marketing could become a compliance target under Sarbanes-Oxley for several reasons, Kornbluh believes. One factor is the increasing reliance on revenue...