Turn Your Management System Into a SOX Machine

by Sandford Liebesman

Q: What role can ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 play in managing the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the United States?

A: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which was passed in response to Enron and other financial accounting scandals in recent years, imposes severe criminal penalties on top executives that willfully misrepresent
the financial health of publicly traded companies in the United States. Your ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 management system can play an important role in reducing the risk that CEOs, CFOs and boards of directors face when complying with the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX).

An informal group of about a dozen mostly quality and environmental professionals have been meeting periodically to share experiences and discuss strategies for complying. Our SOX_Q/E Team, as we call ourselves, includes four organizations that are integrating quality and environmental management system approaches with the financial management system requirements of SOX.

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