J-Sox Perspective

1) Japan passed the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law in 2006 which empowered the FSA to create requirements for financial and internal control reports, similar to Sarbanes-Oxley but with some key differences. 2) All Japanese public companies must comply with the new J-SOX standards or state otherwise in filings after April 1, 2008. 3) MFA recommends a 4-phase approach to compliance: thorough planning and scoping (Phase 1), assessment of corporate governance environment (Phase 2), documentation and assessment of internal controls (Phase 3), and testing of internal controls (Phase 4). Proper planning and leveraging of existing SOX processes can help achieve compliance in an efficient and cost-effective