Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Compliance
Strengthening controls. Enhancing confidence. Ensuring compliance.
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Compliance
We help clients simplify SOX compliance needs, strengthen internal controls and reduce long-term compliance costs with tailored, industry-specialized SOX programs.
SOX compliance solutions
In a continuously evolving risk landscape, it’s crucial to have the right talent for your SOX compliance program.
Baker Tilly recognizes the need for a flexible approach. Key components to successful SOX compliance programs include collaboration with external audit and management, a forward-thinking approach utilizing digital capabilities and a deep understanding of how your IT systems contribute to a SOX-compliant environment.
As your organization grows, your needs for SOX compliance support may fluctuate over time. Baker Tilly identifies ways to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in your SOX program and provides meaningful, actionable recommendations that can be implemented across all three lines.
Whether preparing to go public, recently issuing an initial public offering (IPO), or operating as a mature public company acquiring new businesses, Baker Tilly has the experience to support you with your SOX compliance needs. Our approach extends beyond technical execution; we integrate seamlessly into your operations by understanding your culture, anticipating challenges and embracing the human element of SOX compliance.
SOX readiness often presents common challenges, including unclear ownership of controls, lack of documentation, manual processes that increase risk and difficulty aligning cross-functional teams.
We understand SOX compliance goes beyond finance and IT—it demands an organization-wide commitment to a controls culture, with all team members working toward the same goals. We work with our clients to position themselves for success in the short-term by providing practical and sustainable solutions to remediate deficiencies while focusing on long-term program improvements.
Baker Tilly works closely with clients’ SOX compliance and internal audit teams, often serving as their outsourced partner to deliver the flexibility needed for SOX compliance. Whether supporting a lean internal team at a smaller organization or addressing the complex requirements of a multinational company, our approach scales to meet your needs. Our services include:
- Program governance
- Risk assessment and scoping
- Process and control documentation
- SOX testing (design and operating effectiveness)
- Deficiency management and remediation
- Management and audit committee reporting
- Training and education
Recognizing that each of our SOX client’s programs and compliance needs are different, we co-develop tailored approaches to meet individual client needs. We provide industry insights and leading practices that help our clients make informed decisions about their internal control environment and SOX compliance program.
SOX compliance is a continuous journey for any organization. Even organizations which have been SOX compliant for decades seek ways to increase program efficiency and effectiveness, strengthen internal controls, reduce compliance costs and integrate controls into their business operations.
At Baker Tilly, we start by understanding where our clients are today and where they aim to be. We help establish frameworks for ongoing improvement, including regular program reviews and benchmarking against leading practices, ensuring that SOX programs remain agile and effective over time. Additionally, we integrate emerging trends and regulatory expectations into the optimization process to keep our clients ahead of the curve.
We also help clients get the most out of their governance, risk and compliance (GRC) platforms, leveraging our alliances with AuditBoard and Workiva to enhance automation, improve control monitoring and drive efficiencies across the SOX program. Our approach may include:
- Reassessing SOX risk and scoping processes
- Rationalizing controls to minimize testing efforts
- Automating controls through existing IT investments or new technologies and analytics, including robotic process automation (RPA) to streamline manual processes
- Enhancing control documentation and leveraging ERP system workflows to develop automated controls
- Streamlining reporting processes with data analytics to provide greater insights and risk identification
- Integrating SOX with enterprise risk management (ERM)
- Providing tailored training and education
Leveraging smart automation
Enhancing SOX compliance through integrated IT application and automated controls significantly simplifies processes, reduces costs and improves efficiency. Baker Tilly combines deep SOX experience with cutting-edge technology to streamline programs, minimize manual interventions and increase control reliability. By embedding automated application controls directly into business processes, organizations enable real-time monitoring, enhance control execution consistency and eliminate manual checks. This approach ensures that key compliance requirements are automatically met without additional administrative burden.
Additionally, our use of intelligent automation—including RPA and scripts—creates efficiencies in testing approaches and reduces manual workloads, allowing organizations to focus on higher-value compliance activities.
SOX compliance requirements have strengthened the internal control environment at public companies, increased investor confidence in financial reporting and stabilized trading markets. Private companies can also benefit from these principles, especially in scenarios such as preparing for an IPO, securing private equity or debt financing, navigating rapid growth, or responding to regulatory or stakeholder expectations.
Implementing stronger internal controls can enhance financial reporting accuracy, improve operational efficiency and mitigate risks, making the company more attractive to investors and lenders. Additionally, we provide education and training to help leadership and key personnel understand internal control best practices, fostering a strong controls culture that supports long-term success. By taking a proactive approach, private companies can accelerate public company readiness when the timing is right.
SOX readiness: Preparing for an IPO
Preparing for an IPO can be daunting. This article discusses the four key areas companies should consider as they continue to grow, scale and take steps toward an IPO.
IT SOX compliance
The backbone of an effective SOX environment
Effective SOX compliance relies on well-controlled technology, requiring a deep understanding of how ERPs, third-party solutions, data warehouses and reporting functionalities interact with business process controls. These interdependencies are crucial for designing, implementing and maintaining a robust control environment that supports accurate financial reporting and regulatory compliance.
Essential IT solutions
At Baker Tilly, we offer scalable, cost-effective IT solutions that seamlessly integrate specialized skills for ERP configurations, access management, automated controls and cybersecurity risks affecting financial data integrity. Our approach ensures rigorous, precise and adaptable IT SOX compliance, facilitating a streamlined control environment. Organizations must maintain reliable, well-documented system and data controls to reduce risks, enhance audit readiness and optimize compliance efforts.
Strengthening compliance with embedded IT controls
Our approach to IT SOX compliance emphasizes seamless integration of IT controls, providing continuous oversight and data-driven insights. By embedding ERP-driven application controls directly into business processes, organizations reduce the need for manual checks while ensuring compliance requirements are met in real time. Automated controls enhance efficiency and reliability, lowering compliance risk and operational costs. Our teams work closely with clients to integrate intelligent automation solutions, ensuring that key processes—such as access management, change management and transaction processing—are optimized for compliance.
Real-time risk mitigation
By leveraging automated workflows and IT application controls, organizations can gain real-time visibility into compliance performance. Automated alerts and notifications enable immediate action on potential risks, reducing delays and enhancing decision-making. This proactive approach ensures that compliance efforts stay aligned with business goals while maintaining a strong and agile control environment. Data analytics plays a key role in guiding audit activities, identifying risks and enhancing overall control effectiveness.
Extensive experience
We serve as strategic collaborators, providing technical guidance and a tailored approach to keep SOX programs agile and effective. Beyond testing IT general controls, we enhance system controls, identify automation opportunities and mitigate IT risks impacting financial reporting. Our team ensures seamless transitions from previous service providers, delivering high-quality results with minimal disruption.
From ITGC testing and system implementation reviews to SOX automation and audit support, we help organizations maximize efficiency, strengthen compliance and future-proof their IT SOX programs.
How we'll work together
Start hereYou will have access to specialists who understand SOX requirements and can help you navigate specific compliance requirements, drive operational efficiency, improve decision-making and reduce risk.
We establish strong working relationships and act as a key partner to your internal audit function, auditors and control operators. We are well-versed in supporting compliance efforts across all three lines and help you benefit from tailored solutions that align with your organization’s maturity needs.
In each engagement, we:
- Perform detailed planning to anticipate concerns and stay ahead of external audit expectations
- Understand your control environment to serve as a trusted business advisor and recommend enhancements to your control environment
- Leverage technology to drive efficiencies in testing
- Apply our experience as external auditors and familiarity with Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) auditing standards to anticipate audit needs and advise management on creative solutions to identified gaps
- Use our industry specialization to help our clients create innovative solutions that help them overcome their unique challenges
Whether your objectives are driving cost savings, improving quality, advancing your controls or augmenting skill sets, Baker Tilly has a variety of onshore and offshore delivery methods that will allow you to create the right sourcing model tailored to your specific needs.
When working with clients, we often find the most successful compliance programs have collaborative relationships with both management and external audit. We have experience working closely with all major accounting firms, including the Big Four, with whom we have built successful relationships on multiple client engagements. Our understanding of PCAOB auditing standards and methodology used by other firms allows us to easily align with external auditors, deliver on testing synergies and increase external auditor reliance on management’s testing.
Our strategic alliances
AuditBoard
Together, Baker Tilly and AuditBoard provide clients with a solution that augments the transformation and optimization of their financial management, risk and compliance functions. The pairing combines deep advisory experience and insight with advanced audit technology to enhance GRC management. Read the press release.
Workiva
Baker Tilly and Workiva create value-driven offerings to transform and optimize an organization’s governance, risk and compliance (GRC) functions and support their ESG journeys with enhanced reporting insights. Through our alliance, Baker Tilly and Workiva can help organizations streamline risk management processes and compliance reporting within a cloud-based platform. Read the press release.
Guiding insights
Five common pitfalls for new SOX filers (and how to avoid them)
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) compliance is a complex and challenging journey. Explore five common pitfalls — and how to avoid them — with help from Baker Tilly SOX specialists.
Can your IT SOX program withstand the PCAOB?
In this video, Baker Tilly discusses how we should be evolving our IT SOX compliance to meet today’s tech and auditing standards.
Agents of Change with Richard Chambers and Heather Acker
Heather Acker, Baker Tilly risk advisory managing principal, and Richard Chambers, senior internal audit advisor at AuditBoard, discuss the importance of internal audit in an area of increased risk and disruption.
Four key concepts to consider when using advanced reporting solutions in your SOX program
This article highlights emerging technologies in the risk landscape that your IT components of your Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance function will need to be ready to respond to.
Elevating IT SOX programs through PCAOB inspection results and staff outlooks
PCAOB inspection results and staff outlooks can help enhance internal controls, ensure regulatory compliance and support strong cybersecurity principles.
Identifying risks and controls when implementing RPA solutions in a SOX environment
This article highlights risks and controls for companies using RPA solutions in a SOX environment.
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