Sarbanes-Oxley Anonymous Reporting System
First Claim
1. ) a method of providing sarbanes-oxley anonymous reporting for a public company, said method comprising:
- i) receiving in an independent secure database information pertaining to an event relating to accounting practices, internal accounting controls, and/or auditing of said public company, ii) accessing said database via a network interface to enable anonymous submission of information by a user regarding said event (e.g. filing a complaint), iii) providing an audit committee with secure restricted access to certain information of said database to obtain read-only information about said event and to input status and results of an investigation pertaining to said event, and iv) providing said user with secondary access to said database to enable tracking of status information about an earlier reported event supplied by said audit committee and/or to anonymously submit additional information relative to said event.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention relates to information escrow and anonymous reporting systems and methods, but more specifically, to an independent information storage and retrieval system that escrows information anonymously reported under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The present invention aims to provide public companies with a system and method to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Act requires public companies to establish procedures for the receipt, retention, and treatment of complaints received by the issuer of securities regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters; and the confidential, anonymous submissions by employees of the issuer of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. To achieve this goal, the invention provides a method and a system for implementing the methods that are specifically directed to statutory compliance.
32 Citations
26 Claims
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1. ) a method of providing sarbanes-oxley anonymous reporting for a public company, said method comprising:
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i) receiving in an independent secure database information pertaining to an event relating to accounting practices, internal accounting controls, and/or auditing of said public company, ii) accessing said database via a network interface to enable anonymous submission of information by a user regarding said event (e.g. filing a complaint), iii) providing an audit committee with secure restricted access to certain information of said database to obtain read-only information about said event and to input status and results of an investigation pertaining to said event, and iv) providing said user with secondary access to said database to enable tracking of status information about an earlier reported event supplied by said audit committee and/or to anonymously submit additional information relative to said event. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 26)
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16. ) A system that provides Sarbanes-Oxley anonymous reporting for a public company, said system comprising:
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i) An independently escrowed, secure database to receive information pertaining to an event relating to accounting practices, internal accounting controls, and auditing of said public company, ii) A user interface of said database accessible by a user to enable anonymous submission of information regarding said event, iii) An audit interface that provides an audit committee with secure, restricted access to certain information of said database to obtain read-only information about said event and to input status and results of an investigation pertaining to said event, and iv) An audit interface that allows said user to request information from original complainant. v) Said user interface providing said user with secondary anonymous access to said database to track status information supplied by said audit committee about an earlier reported event and/or to anonymously submit additional information about said event. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification