IS it true that Sarbanes-Oxley Act implemented an increase of 10 units for accountincy?

Question

IS it true that Sarbanes-Oxley Act implemented an increase of 10 units for accountincy?

Answer 1

President George W. Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-204) on Tuesday, July 30, 2002.  Subsequently, the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued government regulations to clarify aspects of the many new requirements under the law.

Although a substantial number of the new requirements relate to accounting practices, the answer to your question depends entirely upon the educational requirements adopted in the jurisdiction(s) and institutions of education in which a student is enrolled; or, in the case of licensed accountants or a Certified Public Accountants (C.P.A.s), upon the continuing educational requirements required by a jurisdiction's licensing entity.

Sarbanes-Oxley neither stipulates a precise number of additional "units" (of study) for educational institutions nor a specific number of continuing educational courses or hours of study for accountants or C.P.A.s.

To be sure, schools and licensing entities have added courses to their requirements in an effort to do what is possible to assure that accountants and C.P.A.s are competent to meet the new requirements of the Act and its regulations. This is also the case for attorneys; conflict of interest officers; CEOs, CFOs and others.

Just a quick search of the web for Sarbanes-Oxley online continuing education requirements reveals an industry that has developed in order to offer "training" for accountants and C.P.A.s.  This is not to mention the scores of books and periodicals that have come into existence since 2002 to assist professionals, including accountants and C.P.A.s, to learn the requirements and to remain current as those requirements are clarified or changed by the S.E.C. and Courts.

Perhaps I should add that in many jurisdictions, accountants and C.P.A.s are responsible for successfully completing substantially more than than 10 hours of continuing education in connection with the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley.  Inasmuch as I have no idea what you mean by "units," I cannot be sure whether the added courses for those studing to be accountants/C.P.A.s in certain jurisdictions are equal to what you identify as "10 units."