The cost of compliance may be balanced by improved efficiency and quality.

At my peril, I frequently ask senior decision makers how much Sarbanes-Oxley legislation (SOX) has benefited their companies. Because of the recently proposed management guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) proposed changes to their audit standard, AS 2, I have had several such SOX conversations in recent weeks.