Editing Sarbanes–Oxley Act (section)

===Benefits to firms and investors===
* Arping/Sautner (2010): This research paper analyzes whether SOX enhanced corporate transparency.<ref>{{cite SSRN|ssrn=1561619|title=The Effect of Corporate Governance Regulation on Transparency: Evidence from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002|date=August 2012}}</ref> Looking at foreign firms that are cross-listed in the US, the paper indicates that, relative to a control sample of comparable firms that are not subject to SOX, cross-listed firms became significantly more transparent following SOX. Corporate transparency is measured based on the dispersion and accuracy of analyst earnings forecasts.
* Iliev (2007): This research paper indicated that SOX 404 indeed led to conservative reported earnings but also reduced—rightly or wrongly—stock valuations of small firms.<ref>{{cite SSRN|ssrn=983772|title=The Effect of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (Section 404) Management's Report on Audit Fees, Accruals and Stock Returns|date=August 26, 2009}}</ref> Lower earnings often cause the share price to decrease.
* Rice and Weber (2011) shows that only a minority of SOX 404 reports provide any advance warning of the possibility of impending accounting problems. Reporting incentives of the firms, like the need for raising additional external capital, larger firm size and decreased external auditor objectivity, might prohibit firms reporting the weakness of internal control in advance. Therefore, SOX 404 alone might not achieve its intended results.<ref>{{cite journal|title=How Effective Is Internal Control Reporting under SOX 404? Determinants of the (Non-)Disclosure of Existing Material Weaknesses|first1=SARAH C.|last1=RICE|first2=DAVID P.|last2=WEBER|date=3 January 2012|journal=Journal of Accounting Research|volume=50|issue=3|pages=811–843|doi=10.1111/j.1475-679x.2011.00434.x|s2cid=154283750|hdl=10.1111/j.1475-679X.2011.00434.x|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
* Skaife/Collins/Kinney/LaFond (2006): This research paper indicates that borrowing costs are much lower for companies that improved their internal control, by between 50 and 150 basis points (.5 to 1.5 percentage points).<ref>{{cite SSRN |title=The Effect of SOX Internal Control Deficiencies on Firm Risk and Cost of Equity|first1=Hollis|last1=Ashbaugh-Skaife|first2=Daniel W.|last2=Collins|first3=William R. Jr.|last3=Kinney|first4=Ryan|last4=LaFond|date=November 7, 2008 |ssrn=896760}}</ref>
* Lord & Benoit Report (2006): Do the Benefits of 404 Exceed the Cost? A study of a population of nearly 2,500 companies indicated that those with no material weaknesses in their internal controls, or companies that corrected them in a timely manner, experienced much greater increases in share prices than companies that did not.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} The report indicated that the benefits to a compliant company in share price (10% above Russell 3000 index) were greater than their SOX Section 404 costs.
* Institute of Internal Auditors (2005): The research paper indicates that corporations have improved their internal controls and that financial statements are perceived to be more reliable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theiia.org/research/research-reports/chronological-listing-research-reports/downloadable-research-reports/?i=248|title=IIA Research SOX Looking at the Benefits|publisher=Theiia.org|access-date=August 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430024647/http://www.theiia.org/research/research-reports/chronological-listing-research-reports/downloadable-research-reports/?i=248|archive-date=2011-04-30}}</ref>
* Donelson, Ege and McInnis (2017): This research paper indicates that firms with reported material weaknesses have significantly higher fraud.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww2.cfo.com/auditing/2017/09/research-refutes-sarbanes-oxley-critics-internal-controls/|title=Study Hits Critics of SOX Internal Controls Provision|first=David|last=McCann|date=September 5, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aaahq.org/Portals/0/newsroom/Intnl%20Cntrl%20Weakness%20and%20Finan%20Rpt%20Fraud.pdf|website=aaahq.org | title=Internal Control Weaknesses and Financial Reporting Fraud}}</ref>