Resources > FAX Machines: the "Black Hole" in Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

FAX Machines: the "Black Hole" in Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

In a great many instances, the last decade of the 20th Century spelled disaster as regards to corporate governance. Systems were certainly in place but unfortunately little heeded in many cases. Senior executives are supposedly paid the big bucks because, as the old saying goes, "the buck stops here," or at least it was intended to. We all know that other old saying, "the road to h--- is paved with good intentions"!

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

Well, in the 21st Century "good intentions" are not good enough, and as a result of incredible corporate failures and scandals such as ENRON and WORLDCOM, the Congress of The United States of America passed the mother of all compliance acts in 2002. It's called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). What does this Act do? Well, amongst a host of other things, it outlines new standards for corporate governance and senior executive responsibilities.

The CEO and CFO of all US based public companies are now required, by law, to sign a statement (under penalty of significant fines and/or imprisonment) that the financial information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission fully complies with the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act, and "fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company."

Prior to SOX, it was the sole responsibility of the external auditors to express an opinion on whether the corporate financial statements "present fairly" the actual financial position and the financial results of the company.

Company Executives Must Sign a Statement of Compliance

In this post Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) period, this is no longer acceptable. Now the CEO and CFO, along with the auditors, are required to sign a statement of compliance. In addition, management is also required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) to "establish and maintain an adequate internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting" and provide an "assessment, as of the end of the most recent fiscal year…, of the effectiveness of the internal control structure and procedures … for financial reporting."

The completeness and accuracy of the financial information was always the responsibility of a company’s management, but prior to Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), the senior executives did not have the added responsibility of certifying such information. In addition, senior management is now required to re-evaluate all critical information sources and maintain adequate controls over such information.

Fax Machines: a Compliance Nightmare

The real question is, are there any black holes that need to be addressed? The unfortunate answer is yes there are, and you guessed it fax machines are a huge black hole in this system of internal controls. Have you ever tried to find that important fax that came in, made the rounds, and is now physically lost? What happens when you have thousands of faxes to deal with daily, from multiple locations? How do you provide assurance that all faxes are appropriately captured in the systems of internal control? Yes it’s a nightmare, a compliance black hole!

So the indispensable, easy-to-use, reliable, ever present fax can also be a compliance nightmare if it’s in "the wild" and not under control. The challenge with fax machines is that once the document is printed on a traditional fax machine, it can easily be lost or misdirected. Ensuring that all documents received on the fax machine are captured completely and accurately requires specific procedures, tasks that can be a costly and time-consuming. One option is to re-scan, photocopy or otherwise duplicate all items received on your fax machine. Likewise, all outbound faxes must be similarly treated.

Natural Data Inc. Recognizes Your Compliance Problem

Fortunately the totally dedicated designers at Natural Data Inc. visualized this problem status of the fax machine long ago and worked diligently to provide a unique, effective and economical solution to this challenge. The solution is called NOAH.

NOAH to the Rescue!

Besides Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, NOAH also provides benefits such as easy information retrieval, complete logging of all activities relating to the fax machine (including the details of the source of incoming faxes and the target for all outgoing faxes) and the confirmation of the fax status (including the time of day, date and duration of the transmission).

NOAH takes everything your black hole throws at it and makes it compliant! Natural Data Inc. is in the business of taming your fax problems! If fax machines in "the wild" are your problem, Natural Data Inc.'s NOAH is the solution to your fax compliance problems. ~

How to make your fax machine Sarbanes-Oxley compliant

How does Natural Data's Digital Fax Service work?

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