Here we go again. Roughly a week after the Securities and Exchange Commission announced what it vowed its last extension for non-accelerated filers to comply with the auditor attestation requirement under Section 404(b) of Sarbanes-Oxley, Congress has revived efforts to exempt those companies from the provision.

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.) on Oct. 8 introduced the "Small Business SOX Compliance Relief Act" to permanently exempt non-accelerated filers from the reporting requirements of Section 404(b).

Garrett has previously co-sponsored legislation to exempt and/or delay the provision for smaller companies.

"Although the stated intent of Sarbanes-Oxley was to provide investor confidence in our markets through greater accountability and disclosure, the Act has had the unintended effect of creating undue and often unbearable burdens on small businesses," Garrett said. "It is diverting valuable resources away from other legitimate business needs; creating massive and tedious documentation requirements; and discouraging the public listing of both international and domestic companies on U.S. markets."

"Especially now, as our country struggles to emerge from a recession, the last thing American small businesses need is another barrier to economic stabilization," he continued.

A press release from Garrett announcing the move cites the SEC's own SOX 404 study released last week. "Although reforms were made in 2007 to relax the guidelines for smaller companies, businesses of all sizes still report excessive compliance costs ... In summarizing survey responses from businesses regarding the benefits of Section 404 compliance, the SEC wrote, ‘[A] majority felt that the costs of compliance outweighed the benefits. This was especially true among smaller companies.'"

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