Graduation Year

Fall 2013

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Economics-Accounting

Reader 1

Marc Massoud

Rights Information

© 2013 Andres Fuerte

Abstract

This purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of increased accounting regulations on financial reporting practices. Specifically, this paper provides an in-depth look into two specific regulations, The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) and the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. SOX was enacted as a result of the many accounting scandals that occurred in the late 1990s, and its main intention was to reduce the likelihood that fraud would occur by establishing additional oversight and increasing the number of regulations for public accounting firms. This paper examines the costs associated with specific provisions within SOX and the effects that they have on public companies. Ultimately, this paper finds that SOX imposes an unfair burden to smaller public companies. Secondly, this paper examines the effect that regulations in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act had on the financial services industry. The 2008 financial crisis was caused by poor regulations of large financial institutions, which failed to prevent these institutions from engaging in behavior that would later have a negative impact on many Americans. In order to prevent this type of behavior from affecting the stability of the entire U.S. economy, Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank Act. Due to the recent enactment of this act, and because most of its provisions are still being implemented, this paper focuses on identifying and presenting valid arguments for and against some of the act’s most important provisions.

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