The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) established regulations for corporate governance and financial practices. Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is achieved by following the rules put in place for all publicly traded companies. SOX requires periodic financial reports to be signed by a member of upper management who is responsible for internal controls and has reviewed them in the last ninety days. The report must document any weaknesses in the internal controls, along with significant changes that could have a negative impact on the internal controls. It also must account for any off-balance sheet liabilities or transaction and any incidence of fraud involving an employee that deals with internal activities. SOX also created an oversight panel to conduct audits of public accounting firms to ensure the financial reports are complete, easy to understand, and accurate. For accounting firms that do not meet Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements there are penalties of fines and/or imprisonment. Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is something every public company, large or small, must attain.