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National News

Bush signs historic legislationfor corporate accounting reforms

U.S. President George W. Bush signed a historic accounting reform bill into law July 30 as corporate executives, auditors, lawyers and Wall Street analysts prepared for a significant change in the way they do business.

At the signing ceremony in the White House, Bush stressed the punitive aspects of the most far-reaching business reforms since the Depression.

"No more easy money for corporate criminals, just hard time," Bush said.

The bill establishes tougher criminal penalties for white-collar crimes, including quadrupling, to 20 years, the maximum prison sentence for mail and wire fraud. It also establishes a new crime of securities fraud, punishable by up to 25 years in jail.

But experts say the law's most sweeping changes concern corporate governance.

Lawyers, for instance, will have increased responsibility to inform corporate boards of directors of misdeeds. And the boards' audit committees must operate independently of management.

Like much of the law, the audit committee requirements will be spelled out in three to six months

In recent weeks, as the reform bill worked its way through Congress, Bush and lawmakers rallied behind it to restore investor confidence that had been shaken badly by a number of business scandals, such as those involving WorldCom and Enron Corp


Shukan ST: Aug. 9, 2002

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