Sarbanes-Oxley and State Income Taxes

To comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s requirements, many organizations document every aspect of compliance with state income and franchise taxes.

But just how much detail is enough to satisfy the federal government’s exacting demands, and when do your documentation and updates spill over into costly overkill?

Listen and participate without leaving your office as our panel of corporate tax professionals and advisors describe what has and hasn’t worked in SOX compliance regarding state income and franchise taxes and recommend best practices.

David Hardesty, Vice President, Wilson Marckle Stuckey Hardesty & Bott accounting firm in Larkspur, CA. He is a consultant both on corporate taxation and corporate governance and is the author of a book titled Corporate Governance and Accounting under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Allen Shoulders, Partner, Ernst & Young, Dallas. He is the firm's director of Sarbanes-Oxley Sect. 404 services and has overseen the firm's development, design and implementation of its Sect. 404 methodology for tax. He has written extensively on tax-related Sarbanes-Oxley issues.

Stephanie Anne Lipinski Galland, Partner, Thompson Coburn law firm, Washington, D.C. She is the former chairwoman of the ABA's state and local tax committee and is a frequent speaker on key tax issues before the ABA, Conference Board, the IPT and other professional groups.

Our panelists will offer valuable insights and practical tips on:

• Which daily tax compliance processes should you document? Procedures ranging from recording changes in tax rates to loading software updates will be discussed.
• How to create flow charts and process matrices that make your tax compliance understandable to outsiders, including auditors.
• How to respond when you discover deficiencies in tax controls such as inadequate reserves or unregulated access to spreadsheets.
• When should you hire an outside consultant to handle your SOX compliance on tax issues.

Our Q&A session will allow you to ask specific questions relevant to your own situation.

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