Audiotape and written materials of AIS's live audioconference on June 18, 2003

The Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on Private or Nonprofit Health Care Organizations

Learn why 2002's revolutionary corporate responsibility law is important to all health care organizations — public, private or nonprofit — and the steps you should take as soon as possible. The term "Sarbanes-Oxley" is synonymous with a big bang going off in the boardrooms and executive suites of every U.S. industry, including health care. The far-reaching changes it mandates for public corporations are certain to set the standards for private and nonprofit entities as well, in areas that include governance, auditor independence, financial disclosure, board liability and much more.

Sponsored by Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS), a leader in health care compliance information since 1990.

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On July 30, 2002, President Bush signed the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in response to the Enron debacle and other high-profile cases of corporate mismanagement. The new corporate responsibility law hit health care “like a ton of bricks” in March 2003 when the Securities and Exchange Commission charged HealthSouth Corporation (and its CEO and former executives) with numerous violations of the new law.

The scandals that prompted passage of Sarbanes-Oxley underscored three major weaknesses:

(1) Weak and ineffectual Board level involvement;
(2) Public accounting firms that were conflicted or coerced into providing advice and reports that contributed to the problems;
(3) Law firms and internal counsel that failed to report emerging legal issues to senior management and the Board.

The new law focuses on all three of these problem issues, reserving most attention to proper governance and oversight at the Board level. The key issues addressed by Sarbanes/Oxley focus on:

• Increased obligations by Boards to oversee management and auditors resulting in a Code, improved financial expertise, direct Audit Committee involvement with employee complaints, internal control and auditing matters through a hotline, obligations of attorneys to raise improper behavior to the board, more stringent policies to guard against inaccuracies in reporting business conditions, and so forth.
• Reduced risk of auditors compromising their work by conflicts, coercion, or use of tricky accounting techniques that result in inaccurate financial pictures.
• Improved management practices in preparing and reporting on business conditions.
  

In a strict legal sense, Sarbanes-Oxley applies solely to public corporations. But tremendous pressure exists — financial, legal and business pressure — for private and nonprofit entities to comply with these sweeping mandates as well.

This exclusive 90-minute audioconference lets you go one-on-one with the Vice President for Internal Audit of a major public health care corporation that is totally immersed in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and a former HHS Inspector General who is now one of the health care industry's most respected compliance consultants.

You'll get expert advice on:

(1) Why private and nonprofit health care entities should comply with many Sarbanes-Oxley provisions, including factors such as:

• New best practice standards
• Liability for officers and Board members
• Adoption by state regulators
• Demands of third-party business partners
• Expectations of investors or buyers
• No other option if you wish to go public
• The new OIG/AHLA corporate responsibility initiative
• Changing GAAP, FASB and GASB accounting principles
• Accountants likely will adopt same principles for all sectors
• Better written guidance is good for business

(1) Increasing accountability at the executive and Board level
(2) Ensuring a top-down compliance effort beginning at the Board level
(3) Promoting independent Audit Committee structure and active oversight regarding the integrity of the audit processes
(4) Improving Audit Committee ability and expertise to oversee accounting/financial reporting
(5) Developing a Disclosure Committee consisting of senior management to assist the CEO and CFO in their quarterly certification requirement.
(6) Eliminating auditor conflicts for providing accounting/auditing and non-audit services
(7) Ensuring a five-year rotation of lead and concurring partners of your external auditing firm
(8) Taking steps to ensure improved accountability/accuracy of financial documentation
(9) Implementing a comprehensive records retention policy and procedure
(10) Ensuring the company Code and other written guidance addresses all the right issues
(11) Realizing the added duty of legal counsel to report violations
(12) Reviewing accounting practices used by auditors (e.g., GAAP)
(13) Ensuring auditors are not pressured or coerced by management
(14) Establishing procedures (defined by the Act) for confidential, anonymous hotline
(15) Implementing procedures for receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received
(16) Incorporating the Audit Committee members or designee into the complaint reporting process for accounting, internal accounting control and auditing matters
(17) Implementing a policy regarding the prohibition of retaliation against reporting employees

• Compliance officers
• Internal auditors
• Corporate executives
• Officers and Board members
• Accountants
• Consultants
• Lawyers

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