Can Business Conduct Be Legislated by a Code of Ethics?
Download Article PDF Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles by the author on policies and procedures dealing with accounting and regulatory issues. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX Act”) requires public companies, including cooperatives that register their stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), to disclose whether or not they have adopted a code of ethics for senior financial officers. While the SOX Act does not mandate that a public company have a code of ethics, the SOX Act does state that if a public company does not have a code of ethics, the company must disclose that it does not, and “the reason therefore.” The message to public companies is fairly clear – you should have a code of ethics. The SOX Act defines a code of ethics as standards that are “reasonably necessary” to promote: • honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships, • full, fair
Related Questions
- Section 303A.10 requires that any waiver from a companys code of business conduct and ethics must be promptly disclosed to shareholders. What would constitute prompt notification?
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- Can Business Conduct Be Legislated by a Code of Ethics?
