When the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed in 2002, businesses were required to put in place stronger safeguards to combat accounting errors and fraud. Many businesses have begun to employ SOX compliance software to handle regulatory requirements and prepare for audits in order to stay compliant.
In this post, we’ll look at the top ten SOX compliance software options.
Brief History of SOX Compliance
This law was written by Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Representative Michael G. Oxley (R-OH-4) in response to many high-profile corporate scandals, including Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco.
SOX’s declared purpose is to “protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures.” The bill imposed obligations for publicly-traded company boards and officials, as well as criminal consequences for noncompliance. The bill was approved by huge majorities in both the House and Senate, with just three members voting against it.
Who Must Comply with SOX?
SOX applies to all publicly traded firms in the United States, as well as wholly-owned subsidiaries and publicly traded foreign companies doing business in the United States. Accounting firms that audit companies that must comply with SOX are likewise governed by SOX.
Private corporations, charities, and nonprofits are often exempt from all of SOX’s requirements. Private companies should not willfully destroy or falsify financial data, and SOX has provisions to punish those that do. Companies planning an initial public offering (IPO) should make sure they are compliant with SOX before going public.
Best SOX Compliance Software
The list includes a range of the top SOX compliance tools for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
1. Workiva
It’s time to upgrade your tools if they can’t keep up with the intricacy of your task. Workiva is an open, intelligent, and intuitive platform that simplifies difficult work so you can save time, decrease risk, and make important decisions. See how you may simplify your most difficult tasks, such as financial reporting, risk reduction, and financial planning and analysis.
Workiva is an open, intelligent, and intuitive platform that allows you to complete your most complex tasks without having to manually switch from system to system, software to software, or person to person.
2. MetricStream
MetricStream SOX Compliance Management is highly adaptable to satisfy individual SOX compliance standards and is built on the MetricStream Platform. The software has a responsive and customizable interface for SOX compliance professionals, and it is mobile ready to facilitate control testing anywhere, at any time.
Organizations can model SOX compliance procedures based on complicated organizational configurations using the product’s “multi-dimensional organization structure” capabilities. The software gives full compliance insights and intelligence to management, allowing them to make better business decisions. can you recover excel file not saved
3. Netwrix
In hybrid IT settings, Netwrix solutions assist with user behavior analysis and risk mitigation, as well as control over modifications, configurations, and access. Security intelligence is provided by the system, which identifies security flaws, detects irregularities in user behavior, and investigates suspicious activity in real time to prevent serious issues that could compromise your data security.
Unlike many other SOX compliance products on the market, it provides enterprise-wide visibility and the evidence needed to demonstrate that you have internal controls in place to protect information systems and sensitive data on-premises and in the cloud.
4. SolarWinds
SolarWinds’ Security Event Manager is a log management solution that can collect logs from a variety of sources and use the information to establish a centralized repository of vital security-related data. It may automatically generate customized reports, ensuring that you have the information you require at regular intervals. These reports will assist you with SOX compliance, as well as HIPAA, DSS, PCI, and other regulations.
The software watches your logs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, utilizing complex algorithms to discover and report threats fast, ensuring that any fraud that could put your firm in violation of SOX requirements is caught quickly and dealt with. Security Event Manager, in keeping with the principle of automation, can take action on your behalf when suspicious activity is detected. Processes can be killed, access can be revoked, and IP addresses can be blocked.
5. AuditBoard
With a modern, connected platform that engages the front lines, surfaces the risks that matter, and fosters improved strategic decision-making, AuditBoard improves how audit, risk, and compliance teams manage today’s changing risk landscape.
AuditBoard is used by more than a quarter of the Fortune 500 to help them grow their businesses. AuditBoard is the best-rated audit management and GRC software on G2, and Deloitte just named it one of North America’s fastest-growing technology firms.
6. Ideagen
Pentana, an internal audit management solution by Ideagen, is designed to boost efficiency by automating audit operations. Internal audit management, risk-based modeling of auditable entities, planning and scheduling, documentation and reporting, data mining and analysis, and management and modeling of controls, including automated testing and escalation, are all included in Pentana’s comprehensive solution.
7. BWise
BWise is a GRC platform that is used to handle different compliance activities such as SOX, IT compliance, PCI compliance, procurement compliance, internal audit, and management self-testing. For internal audit testing and annual compliance testing, it is connected with TeamMate audit tracking. how to recover files from a reset computer
BWise is used for testing across the enterprise, providing management with a holistic view of control effectiveness across the organization and across compliance activities.
8. HelpSystems
Powertech by HelpSystems is a cybersecurity suite of solutions that may help you swiftly gather data for SOX auditors, offer evidence that your security strategy complies with the strict requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, and keep your IT infrastructure secure all at the same time.
Powertech is a collection of products primarily built for the IBM I platform. Powertech Compliance Monitor is very valuable for SOX compliance because it monitors your systems for compliance concerns in real time and generates the reports you’ll need to submit in the event of an audit. Powertech Policy Minder and Powertech Security Auditor are also useful.
9. DoubleCheck
DoubleCheck’s SOX Compliance Management is a web-based tool for automating your SOX compliance process. Third-party frameworks like COSO and CobIT can be used with the tool. Everything about the software you use, according to DoubleCheck, should be tailored to your business and straightforward to apply. As a result, their product is extremely customizable, from individual user dashboards to the procedure for automating your SOX compliance routine.
Reports are automatically generated and provided to the stakeholders in your company with DoubleCheck SOX Compliance Management, and they are tailored to their position. Existing GRC capabilities, such as risk or audit management, can be easily added through upgrades to other DoubleCheck software, allowing the solution to grow with your company.
10. ManageEngine Eventlog Analyzer
ManageEngine’s EventLog Analyzer is a complete log management solution. Eventlog Analyzer, like many other SOX compliance software tools, will automate your log management process and assist you generate reports that will keep you in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley laws. It will also keep track of your files and folders. You’ll know when someone has changed your financial records thanks to file integrity monitoring, and you’ll be able to verify that the person was allowed to do so and was operating in good faith.
ManageEngine’s software has the power you need to stay on top of what’s going on across your entire network and prove to SOX compliance auditors that you’re taking all the necessary steps to protect your investors from fraud, with support for over 700 log sources and the ability to process data at 25,000 logs per second.