Which U.S. law requires all publicly traded corporations in the United States to provide information about their financial status and implements…

The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002 is a United States federal law enacted in response to major corporate and accounting scandals. Its primary purpose is to protect investors by improving the accuracy, reliability, and transparency of corporate financial disclosures. SOX mandates that the management of publicly traded companies establish, assess, and report on the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR). This includes controls over the information technology systems that store and process financial data, making IT and cloud security controls a critical component of SOX compliance.

A. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA): This law requires financial institutions to explain their information-sharing practices to their customers and to safeguard sensitive nonpublic personal information.

B. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): This is a European Union (EU) regulation focused on data protection and privacy for individuals within the EU, not a U.S. law on corporate financial reporting.

D. The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act: This U.S. law governs law enforcement access to electronic data held by U.S.-based technology companies, regardless of where the data is stored globally.

1. Wallace

L.

Lin

Z.

& Cefaratti

M. (2011). The impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on information security. Journal of Information Systems

25(1)

143-167. (See Abstract and Introduction

pp. 143-144

for a summary of SOX's purpose regarding financial reporting and internal controls). DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/jis.2011.25.1.143

2. Amazon Web Services (AWS). (2022). AWS User Guide to Financial Services Regulations and Guidelines in the US. Section: "Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)

" p. 11. This document states

"The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002... is designed to protect investors and the public by increasing the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures."

3. MIT OpenCourseWare. (2011). 15.219 Global Economic Challenges and Opportunities

Fall 2011. Lecture Notes

Session 10: Corporate Governance. The notes discuss the enactment of SOX as a response to accounting scandals to restore investor confidence through enhanced corporate responsibility and financial disclosures.