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Erschienen in: Journal of Business Ethics 3/2018

19.07.2016

Sarbanes–Oxley Section 406 Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers and Firm Behavior

verfasst von: Saurabh Ahluwalia, O. C. Ferrell, Linda Ferrell, Terri L. Rittenburg

Erschienen in: Journal of Business Ethics | Ausgabe 3/2018

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Abstract

Sarbanes–Oxley Section 406 requires a code of ethics for top financial and accounting officers in public companies. The objective of this research is to discover the impact of a financial code of ethics on firm behavior. We performed a longitudinal tracking of firm adoption of a financial code of ethics starting in 2005. We checked these companies’ codes again in 2011 to confirm their continued implementation. Financial restatements were used as a dependent variable to measure improved financial reporting after the adoption of the financial codes. The results confirm that the adoption of a financial code of ethics improves the integrity of financial reporting.

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Fußnoten
1
SEC regulations require the use of a Form 8 K 4.02 to announce an earnings restatement; however, not all firms do so. The SEC has expressed concern that many firms fail to file 8-Ks to announce restatements (White 2008). To ascertain the possible cause of firms’ noncompliance, we looked at the SEC website. The SEC has detailed FAQs regarding the form 8-K on the SEC website (https://​www.​sec.​gov/​divisions/​corpfin/​form8kfaq.​htm). Many FAQs suggest that a firm can avoid filing an 8 K if the ‘triggering event’ (earnings restatement) for filing an 8-K occurs within four business days prior to the firm’s filing of a periodic report. The firm can chose to disclose the restatement in its periodic report rather than a separate Form 8-Ks. Another reason why a firm may not file an 8-K is that a restatement may be cumulatively material for previous financial statements but is not material for one specific financial statement. In such cases, the rule for filing 8-K leaves some ambiguity, which can allow a firm to choose not to file an 8-K to announce an earnings restatement (Plumlee and Yohn 2008). The SEC has recognized the non-filing of form 8-Ks to accompany the restatements as an issue and is working to resolve the ambiguities surrounding the form 8-K filing.
 
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Metadaten
Titel
Sarbanes–Oxley Section 406 Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers and Firm Behavior
verfasst von
Saurabh Ahluwalia
O. C. Ferrell
Linda Ferrell
Terri L. Rittenburg
Publikationsdatum
19.07.2016
Verlag
Springer Netherlands
Erschienen in
Journal of Business Ethics / Ausgabe 3/2018
Print ISSN: 0167-4544
Elektronische ISSN: 1573-0697
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3267-7

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