Corporate governance reform: impact on accounting and auditing

Purpose - The paper aims to describe the reach of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that was passed by Congress in 2002 to overcome corporate abuse of federal securities law. Design/methodology/approach - Analysis focused on the impact of the Act on corporate governance and the resulting effects on accounting and auditing functions. Findings - The Act is ab initio to correct corporate officers' abuses. The research provides information of the range of consequences of the Act. Originality/value - The research is novel in reporting on the effects of the Act. It provides duties to parties in the corporation, directors and executive officers (specifically, CEOs and CFOs) and attorneys.