Michael R. Littenberg
Partner, Corporate Department
Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP
New York City

If nothing else, Sarbanes-Oxley is consistent. Last year's query drew 67% negative votes concerning its worth measured against time and expense. This year, with changes to Section 404 rearing their head, SarbOx did no better. Some 73% of respondents to our Feedback Poll said it's more of a hassle than ever, while only 27% said it's become a non-issue. Commentator Littenberg, who's been practicing securities law for 18 years, provides his spin:

"The reason you're getting a thumbs-down from an overwhelming percentage of your respondents is because in the five years Sarbanes-Oxley's been out it's certainly increased the regulatory-compliance burden. That's resulted in increased costs for most companies, primarily on the accounting and financial side, but to a lesser extent the legal side as well.

"Then there's the visceral reaction to it. You don't tend to see a lot of articles in the press that say that Sarbanes-Oxley is a good thing. You'll see some things by shareholder-advocate groups or consumer advocates, but the overwhelming amount of commentary you'll see is about the increased cost and burden it's put on the business community and the perceived anti-competitive effect that it's having on the climate for new listings.