The costs of auditing internal controls at corporations fell sharply in the second year that new rules were in force, according to a study released yesterday by the four major accounting firms. But some of the savings were eaten up by higher audit fees charged by the firms.
The study found that the average large company, defined as those with annual revenue more than $700 million, paid $4.77 million in 2005 to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires companies to certify the quality of their internal financial controls, and requires auditors to report on the controls.
That was down 44 percent from first-year costs of $8.51 million, said CRA International, which conducted the survey for the accounting firms.
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