The Sarbanes-Oxley Act creates protections for "whistleblowers".
Sarbanes-Oxley Section 806 requires corporations to set up a formal whistleblowing programs that protects the anonymity of informants and protects them from reprisals. The act prohibits a publicly traded company from discharging, demoting, suspending, threatening, harassing, discriminating, or retaliating against an employee because they have filed a complaint or assisted with an investigation into securities fraud.
Because the act imposes strict penalties for not properly reporting financial information, it is important that employees understand corporate rules and also how they will be protected from retaliatory action in supporting the overall goals and mission of the company.
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