Since the Enron scandal erupted in

Since the Enron scandal erupted in December 2001, the issue of business ethics hascome to the forefront of discussions about the behavior of corporate executives, auditors,attorneys, and board members. Subsequent revelations about possible accounting irregularitiesat other multinational corporations such as AOL, WorldCom, and Global Crossingmade it clear that this was not simply a case of one company that ran amok, but a pervasiveproblem at the top levels of major corporations. SOX made many of the practices thatoccurred in these companies illegal and provided penalties for violations. These are some ofthe changes made by Sarbanes-Oxley: Established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and requiredall public accounting firms to register with the board, which conducts periodicinspections to ensure their compliance with audit standards.