SOX
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires U.S. public companies to maintain and assess internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), including the IT general controls that support financial systems.
What SOX is, in plain terms
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is U.S. law enacted to protect investors by improving the accuracy of corporate financial reporting. For technology teams, its practical impact is IT general controls (ITGCs): controls over access, change management, and operations of the systems that support financial reporting. Section 404 requires management to assess internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), and external auditors attest to it for applicable filers.
Typical effort & timeline
SOX compliance is an annual, ongoing obligation tied to financial reporting cycles rather than a one-time certification. The work centers on operating and evidencing ITGCs throughout the year.
Is this framework for you?
- U.S. public companies subject to SEC reporting requirements.
- Companies preparing for an IPO that need ICFR in place.
- IT and security teams responsible for the general controls behind financial systems.
Key facts about SOX
- Section 404 requires management assessment of internal control over financial reporting.
- IT general controls (ITGCs) over access, change, and operations support financial reporting.
- Frameworks such as COSO are commonly used to structure the control environment.
- External auditors attest to ICFR for applicable filers.
Public information about the framework itself. We don't claim certifications, assessment status, or authorizations for our own product.
How we help with SOX
- Map IT general controls to tests and evidence.
- Monitor access and change-management controls continuously.
- Organize evidence for management's assessment and the auditor.
- Reuse overlapping security evidence from SOC 2 or ISO 27001.
Get and stay compliant
How the platform supports your SOX program, from first scope to ongoing monitoring.
Identify in-scope systems
Determine which systems support financial reporting and fall under ITGC scope.
Map IT general controls
Connect access, change, and operations controls to tests and evidence.
Monitor continuously
Keep access and change-management controls monitored throughout the year.
Support the assessment
Organize evidence for management's assessment and the external auditor.
What SOX covers
Public, high-level control or requirement areas, for orientation, not a complete control list.
Reuse evidence across frameworks
SOX shares controls with frameworks you may already run. A passing test can satisfy requirements in more than one place, so adding the next framework means reusing work, not repeating it.
Common questions about SOX
IT general controls govern access to programs and data, change management, and computer operations for systems that support financial reporting.
They share many access and change-management controls, so security evidence can often be reused via cross-mapping.
Section 404 requires management to assess the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, with external auditor attestation for applicable filers.
Get audit-ready for SOX
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