Section 404 Compliance Deadlines Postponed for Certain Issuers
On August 9, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission took additional steps to make it easier for foreign private issuers and smaller and newly public companies to meet their compliance obligations under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The SEC’s latest action with respect to Section 404 compliance is contained in two separate releases, the first reflecting the adoption of new provisions extending Section 404 compliance deadlines for foreign private issuers that are not large accelerated filersPFand the second proposing of a further postponement of Section 404 compliance deadlines for smaller and newly public companies. This memorandum details these developments and summarizes the steps taken by the SEC.