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by Paul Kerstein

Survey: A $6 Billion Bill for Sarb-Ox in 2006

News
Dec 06, 20051 min
CSO and CISOData and Information Security

Analysts at AMR Research estimate companies will spend $6 billion to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2006. That’s just slightly above the $6.1 billion companies spent in 2005, though spending on technology is due to rise as labor spending related to compliance falls. AMR, which issued a statement about its research Nov. 29, based its conclusion on a recent survey of more than 300 executives asked questions about their Sarbanes-Oxley and regulatory compliance spending priorities.

Specific findings related to Sarbanes-Oxley spending include:

* Money spent on internal employees will fall by 8 percent, to about $2.3 billion.

* Spending on technology will rise by 13 percent, to $1.9 billion.

* Budgets for external consultants will hold steady at $1.8 billion. This figure does not include audit fees, AMR said.

* None of the companies surveyed said they spent less than expected.