Sarbanes-Oxley and Private Companies. A recent survey found that although they are not subject to the provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley, many privately-held companies have changed their business practices in reaction to the law. Nearly half of the companies that responded to the survey said that they had adjusted their accounting / reporting processes.

Among those who cited a specific area of change, their top responses were:

Payroll/benefits, 44 percent
Expenditure/purchasing, 37 percent
Accounts receivable/sales, 31 percent
Capital assets, 31 percent
Conversion/inventory, 31 percent
Credit management/collections, 29 percent
Disbursements, 25 percent
Financial close, 22 percent