Sarbox gets a little love

Senator Christopher Dodd thinks that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is being unfairly picked on. And his opinion matters because he'll be chairing the Senate Banking Committee next year.

"I'm not quite as convinced as others are that there is as big a problem associated with Sarbanes Oxley as some have suggested," said Mr Dodd.

His comments come amid growing signs that senior figures in the US financial community, as well as some regulators, believe that "Sarbox" has received a disproportionate share of the blame for driving company listings away from the US.

Dodd is not opposed to a re-examination of Sarbox, though: "At some point we're going to look at it. I don't know exactly when but obviously it's an issue that needs to be examined."

Barney Frank, who will chair the House committee, thinks it "should be up to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the accounting watchdog, to clarify guidance on how the law should be implemented."