37 percent of financial professionals that provide information for their firms' public-company filings with the SEC are asked to sign an affidavit or "subcertification" vouching for the accuracy of that information.

Subcertifications are sometimes known as "cascading certifications" or "managerial attestations."

The findings were part of a recent study conducted by the Association for Financial Professionals, and included a variety of financial titles including Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, Cash Manager and Controller.

Among the top items being "subcertified" were specific disclosures in MD&A, footnotes, or specific account balances.

Though the AFP had no historical data to provide context or identify trends, the association's CEO Jim Kaitz suspects an increased prevalence as a "direct result" of SOX.

That is in sync with a Compliance Week study on the same topic back in May, in which 29 percent of respondents expected to require subcertifications in the near future (although the base of companies with subcertifications already in place was estimated as nearly double the AFP number).

The complete study is available below, but the AFP also published two sample subcertification forms in a white paper on the topic.

Download The AFP Study On Subcertification

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