Small Non-Accelerated Filers Now Have a Cost-Effective Option for Sarbanes-Oxley, Section 404(b) Compliance

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Vibato, the only provider of the fixed-price, best-practice, modular approach to meeting Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and SAS-related compliance requirements, today announced the release of SOX BASIC®. This revolutionary approach to SOX compliance delivers a size-specific SOX implementation to smaller reporting companies in just one day, and for less than $6,000, a fraction of the cost of competing alternatives and a compelling solution for this under-served segment of the market.

The latest SEC report, "Study of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Section 404 Internal Control over Financial Reporting Requirements," estimates the average cost of outside vendor assistance for companies with less than $75M market capitalization for their 2008 fiscal year to be approximately $82,000 for initial implementation (table 8, pg. 44). This is the result of the traditional time-and-materials approach to scoping and implementing a SOX engagement, but does not align with the budget and resource constraints faced by many smaller public companies today.

With the rapidly approaching deadline of June 15, 2010 for the auditor attestation of internal controls or SOX Section 404(b), non-accelerated filers need a reasonable solution that fits their budget, level of resource availability and ongoing maintenance requirements.

For the first time, a fully-integrated, best-practice approach to establishing and documenting internal controls for smaller public companies, as well as startups or larger companies with smaller initial requirements, is available in the form of a comprehensive toolset that can be implemented in one day and for a fixed price.

"We were impressed with the rapid implementation, thorough integration and cost-effective approach delivered in the SOX BASIC toolset from Vibato," said Rod Meisel, corporate controller, Cereplast, Inc. "The initial implementation was a very straightforward process. It got us on the right track for our year-end audit and met our budget constraints."

SOX BASIC is built on the same proven, integrated framework originally introduced in SOX Compliance Made Simple® (SCMS), but designed specifically for companies with fewer than 25 employees, or who need fewer than 20 internal controls to meet their compliance requirements. SOX BASIC includes the features listed below in a unique integration of the industry-proven, best-practice approach offered in the SCMS framework:

• Support – Includes consulting time to perform the implementation and help set up a controls testing plan.
• Risk Assessment – Measures both quantitative and qualitative factors for determining in-scope processes and identifying the high-risk areas of the business.
• Control Matrix – Supports up to 20 predefined best-practice controls available from the 17 process cycles currently offered by Vibato, covering all key areas of the business in addition to the following fully-integrated items:
  • Dashboard to track initial results and ongoing updates
  • Internal controls sub-certification for the 302 Attestation
  • Automatic change control tracking
  • Project plan with milestone deliverables
  • Recommended testing sample sizes based on auditor selection
  • PBC listing and summary
  • Summary of aggregated deficiencies
  • One-click roll-forward functionality that saves relevant historical data and prepares the tool for the next year
• Segregation of Duties Analysis – Analyzes 304 unique segregation conflicts, and identifies the specific resources affected along with suggested remediation strategies.
• Integrated Testing and Documentation – Includes test plans and every policy, checklist, form, and other documents necessary to execute each control as written.

SOX BASIC is also available for licensing by financial services and public accounting and consulting firms looking for a different approach to assisting their existing and potential clients with their compliance objectives.

"We developed SOX BASIC specifically for smaller public companies who have limited resources and internal controls needs," said Teresa Bockwoldt, chief executive officer, Vibato. "Our belief is that having a solid best-practice approach to use as a guide while a company grows will give companies an advantage from the start. SOX BASIC allows a company to start very small and scale as they grow."

To download the SOX BASIC product flyer, please click here.

About Vibato

Vibato, LLC is dedicated to providing the most cost-effective compliance solutions available. Our mission is to help you reduce audit and compliance fees, improve financial transparency and run your business more efficiently. For more information, please visit us at www.vibato.com or contact us directly at mail@vibato.com.

SOURCE Vibato

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