Mazars worldwide survey
on the Sarbanes Oxley Act:

• In expectation of a response from Europe.
  Although 80% of European companies surveyed consider that SOX is an adequate response to the main risks by strengthening their internal control systems, 32% prefer their national legislation and 56% find that the costs derived have not been compensated for by the benefits expected.
  Moreover, with the exception of British and Dutch companies, the majority of European businesses wish to see an increased investment from European authorities in establishing common rules in terms of internal control.
  
  
  
• The costs of compliance judged as very high, even excessively so, and the involvement of human resources has been substantial.
  41% of European companies questioned declare that they have formed project teams composed of less than 20 employees (full-time equivalent), 30% dedicated between 20 and 50 employees to the project and 19% more than 100. If the number of employees who play a part in the project’s widest sense is considered, 39% were found to involve more than 1,000 staff. Moreover, 85% of companies have set up a specific training programme.
  Concerning the financial impact of compliance, European companies in the mean (56%) consider that the advantages of SOX do not compensate the costs and 85% believe that the workload is noticeably more significant than initially predicted.
  
  
  
• More European companies might potentially consider delisting from the American market than their Asian and Latin-American counterparts.
  Despite the constraints inherent to compliance, 59% of European companies questioned do not wish to de-list in America against 83% in Asia and 69% in Latin America.
  Note: 17% of European companies declare that they envisage removing themselves from the market.