2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Privately-Held Companies Implementation Issues

Our research was designed to for two purposes: (1) if the provisions of SOX have merit on their own or whether it is just a mandate by legislators, and (2) to determine if privately-held companies currently not required to implement SOX have done so.  In summary, the respondents, who were experienced financial executives with knowledge of SOX and other regulatory governance policies see SOX as an influential piece of legislation.  They see some positive benefits to their organizations with implementation of some of the provisions of the act, such as better financing options, better credit opportunities, and opportunities to take the company public.  Many of financial executives indicated their organizations are implementing provisions in areas where it cost effective as well making “good” business sense.  For example, it is cost effective to implement a formal code of professional conduct for the executives and it does make good business sense.  However they are not asking their CEOs or CFOs to certify the accuracy of financial statements nor to the internal control structure.  Many of the financial managers indicated they are not implementing SOX on a full scale basis because of the cost, time, and that the lack of benefits derived from implementation

Arbitration versus negotiation: the risk aversion of players

This paper explores the effects that skill and experience have on a baseball player's decision about whether to negotiate with his team or to enter into arbitration. The action taken by players who are eligible to file depends on their perceived trade-off between various types of risk such as the possibility of injury and the risks inherent in the arbitration process. Experience increases the chance that a player will go through arbitration, a high skill level decreases that chance, and a large spread between offered and desired salaries makes a negotiated solution more likely.

MAMTC Regional Market Assessment

The purpose of this study is to assess the business needs, plans for modernization, and use of outside service providers by the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center’s (MAMTC) target clientele--small and mid-size manufacturers in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and Wyoming. In addition, the study provides data and suggestions to help MAMTC better market its services to manufacturers. The results are based on a survey with responses from 1,457 firms and six focus groups held throughout the four-state area. The focus group questions were somewhat different from the survey questions; thus, some sections of this summary refer only to the survey, some refer only to the focus groups, and some include information from both