Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx) news might regularly dominate headlines in the US but will similar legislation be enacted around the world? According to a recent survey by GTNews, only 48% of western European respondents thought other geographical locations should adopt Sarbanes-Oxley style legislation, compared to 59% for global respondents.
The survey concluded that Europe’s finance professionals are willing to embrace the improved transparency of a stronger regulatory environment but remain dubious about the ability of such legislation to restore investor confidence after notorious cases of corporate fraud in both the US and Europe. Only 43% thought confidence in the US would be enhanced by SOx legislation.
Though eight out of ten respondents think best practice in treasury will improve with corporate governance reforms the majority of treasury and finance professionals believe that further layers of reform – such as restructuring at board level – must be undertaken before investors will once more believe in corporate integrity.