Gain respected guidance on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is a legal area in which many clients have sought the guidance of Schwartz & Ballen. As a result of recent corporate scandals such as Enron and WorldCom, Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which represents a comprehensive overhaul of corporate governance practices of public companies.

Partner Gilbert Schwartz is a recognized expert on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

In addition to establishing the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to oversee the public accounting profession, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act revamps the responsibilities of audit committees of public companies. Audit committees are required to be composed of independent members who may retain their own counsel and advisers. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also requires a company's chief executive officer and its chief financial officer to make a number of certifications in the company's annual and quarterly reports relating to the accuracy and adequacy of the company's financial statements. Violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley certification requirements may subject officers to fines and imprisonment.

This legislation prohibits directors and officers from buying and selling the company's stock during "blackout" periods, requires public companies to disclose in their financial statements any off balance sheet transactions that could have a material effect on their financial condition and shortens the timeframe within which certain filings must be made by public companies, officers, directors and principal shareholders. It also imposes restrictions on company loans to directors and executive officers and requires companies to make annual assessments of the effectiveness of their internal controls and to disclose whether or not they have adopted a code of ethics for senior financial officers. The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") is given enhanced authority to enforce securities laws, and penalties for violations are increased.

Schwartz's extensive knowledge and experience in advising the financial services industry on legal issues related to this legislation and the SEC's implementing rules places him as one of the leading experts on these subjects.

The Schwartz & Ballen site provides up-to-date summaries

The site provides implementing information needed by financial services companies on such topics as standards of professional conduct for attorneys, audit committee standards, disclosure rules, internal controls over financial reporting and improper influence on the conduct of audits. It also contains the text of selected SEC implementing regulations.

The Schwartz & Ballen web site provides succinct analyses of the multitude of laws and regulations that affect financial institutions (banks, thrifts, bank holding company, savings and loans, credit unions) in addition to providing the text of the law and regulation. While major emphasis is placed on federal laws and regulation, significant state actions are also covered as are important court cases. The analyses are grouped by areas of expertise - privacy, money laundering, Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Thrift Supervision, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Our regulatory practice ranges from guiding clients through the bank chartering process, obtaining federal deposit insurance coverage, securing approval for bank mergers, developing new products and services in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, addressing possible enforcement matters, conducting internal investigations in connection with regulatory matters to assisting in preparation for examinations by the agencies.

Gain importance guidance on corporate governance from Schwartz & Ballen.