AMG Ready to Issue Recommendations on SAS 70

The Asset Management Goup of SIFMA intends to issue next week its recommended control objectives for asset managers' SAS 70 audit reports. Asset managers have been utilizing SAS 70 audit reports to meet client requests and help support the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley. However, the industry lacks any type of standardization of these reports. In issuing recommendations on behalf of asset managers and the major accounting firms, the AMG will set forth a baseline of the essential elements that a SAS 70 report should include. AMG Steering Committee member Joan Binstock of Lord Abbett serves as Chair of the AMG's SAS 70 Working Group.

US Treasury Department to Examine Sarbanes-Oxley

On October 2, 2007, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced the formation of a 21-member Auditing Committee "to develop recommendations as to what can best be done to sustain a vibrant auditing profession." In remarks delivered last Tuesday, Secretary Paulson stated that "the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 enhanced financial reporting integrity, including mandating major changes affecting the auditing profession," but did note that the Act also "fundamentally altered the interactions between auditors and corporate management and boards of directors in a number of ways, some of which are not constructive." This Treasury initiative is consistent with Secretary Paulson's goals of ensuring investor trust and competitiveness in the US capital markets.

Click here to view the Press Release and the names of the committee members

Click here to read US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's remarks on October 2, 2007

Important Publications:
SIFMA Update
Washington Weekly
Weekly Report of the American Securitization Forum
SIFMA SmartBrief (past five issues)