As mid-March filing deadlines near, financial executives and auditors scramble. And who can forget it's tax time? So how's YOUR busy season going so far?
by Rick Telberg
At Large
With the fast-approaching mid-March deadline for new SEC filings looming, public company executives will soon be personally signing off on their financials, many for the first time. So it comes as a poignant coincidence that one of the Sarbanes-Oxley law's new provisions -- the one about whistle-blowing -- is making headlines just now.
In the first test of the whistle-blowing provisions of the new law, Administrative Law Judge Stephen Purcell has ordered Cardinal Bankshares Inc. to reinstate its former chief financial officer, David Welch, and pay him nearly $65,000 in back pay and damages.
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Whistle-Blowers or Not.
This is the Busy Season for CPAs of all stripes
-- from tax prep to auditing and financial reporting.
Tell us: How's it going for YOU so far?
(And be the first to see the answers.)
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You may recall Welch's story. We reported on it about a year ago in "SOX Whistleblower Rules Get First Test " and the supportive response from fellow CPAs was overwhelming, "SOX Whistleblower Gets CPA Support."
In all, workers have filed 144 claims with the Department of Labor since the law took effect in mid-2002, alleging that their employers retaliated against them for calling attention to financial mismanagement. Welch is one of just three workers to win protection so far. Another 16 cases have ended in settlements.
The bank plans to appeal. And Welch is still planning on going back to his old job.
But what's it mean for CPAs and financial executives?
For that, we asked attorney Dan Westman of Shaw Pittman LLP in McLean, Va.
"Sarbanes-Oxley protects both CPAs working inside and outside publicly traded companies," Westman said. "There is a common misconception that Sarbanes-Oxley protects only employees of publicly traded companies. This is not the case. CPA firms or other contractors of publicly traded companies also are legally protected for whistle-blowing."
Will we now be seeing more whistle-blowers come forward? "The data so far suggests so," said Westman. "The fastest-growing category of cases handled by the U.S. Department of Labor is Sarbanes-Oxley whistle-blower cases."
And if you look at the docket, you'll find many smaller companies listed.
Westman notes that few corporate laws have received such wide publicity, adding, "This law is no secret, and employees appear to be well aware of it."
In addition, he noted, unlike 30 years ago when whistle-blowers were often denounced as 'snitches' or worse, in 2002 Time magazine made them Persons of the Year. Remember Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom, Coleen Rowley of the FBI and Sherron Watkins of Enron?
Many employees, do remember them, particularly CPAs. And they may be the true heroes of our age. Maybe Dave Welch is too.
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN: How's YOUR busy season going so far?
COMMENTS? Send your rants, raves, questions or idle thoughts to Rick Telberg here.
