Case Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case - Research Paper Example The high costs associated with the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley prompts the clients (companies) to pay lesser fees to the audit firms as they try to mi9nimoize their total costs. Ethical issues may, therefore, arise. There is a significant variation in the amount of fees paid by General Electric to auditors before and after the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley. The comparison is therefore between the fees before (2000 and 2002) with those of (2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010). In the period between 2000 and 2002, all the fees paid by General Electric to Auditors (in millions), except the financial information systems fees took an upward trend. The audit fees increased by $14.8 while the audit-related fees and the tax fees increased by $7.8 and $7.4 respectively (textbooks.com). After the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley, the figures increased still but not uniformly as before. The audit fees and the audit related fees rose significantly between 2004 and 2008 and then dropped to in 2010. The increment is however not bigger than the change in the tax fees, which were reduced drastically after the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley. Taking a similar analysis for the Fortune 100 companies yields even more interesting comparison. There is no significant variation in the amount of fees paid by Fortune 100 companies to auditors before and after the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley. In the period between 2000 and 2002, all the fees paid by Fortune 100 companies to auditors (in millions), except the financial information systems fees take an upward trend. The audits fees increase by $1.0 while the audit-related fees and the tax fees increased by $1.9 and $3.4 respectively. As in the case General Electric, after the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley, the figures still increased (amazon.com). The increase here is more uniform and consistent unlike the case of General Electric. The audit fees