Seanad debates
Wednesday, 16 April 2003
Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Second Stage.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act signed by George Bush last July is clear. It requires that a company account report signed off by the directors will include a statement by the chief executive officer and the chief finance officer to the effect that the company is compliant. It is a criminal offence not to supply that statement. That is included in US legislation. I make that point in case someone says we will be less than competitive if we introduce similar legislative provisions here. Within ten years no fund manager or stockbroker anywhere in the world will invest a schilling of anybody's money in an economy which is not clearly compliant, clear of corruption and in which we cannot have full trust and confidence. That is the reality. A casual glance at the business or investment pages of any finance magazine will reveal that is the way matters are going.
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