Opportunities for International Work Experience Arising from the Sarbanes-Oxley Project

In response to recent accounting scandals, the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States now requires every company listed on the New York Stock Exchange to have in place a financial evaluation process that is consistent with its business and internal management and supervisory practices. This requirement isbased on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed by Congress in 2002, which forces the CEOs and CFOs of companies to maintain rigorous formalisms for documenting and continuously reviewing internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. The need to comply with the law touches upon every financial aspect of corporate life. Trained, assisted and supervised by major accounting firms and senior Alcan Inc. management, students from various academic disciplines of Concordia University have played and are continuing to play a role in implementing the required processes in the company worldwide. At Alcan, the project is known as the SOX project.