By Edith Orenstein, FEI Financial Reporting Blog - In remarks at the National Press Club (NPC) yesterday (June 17), NYSE Euronext CEO Duncan Niederauer is reported to have said that “Congress should relax the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for small and medium-size companies because it discourages them from listing on U.S. stock exchanges,” as reported by Neil Roland of Financial Week (FW) in his article, "NYSE CEO calls for relaxation of Sarbanes-Oxley for small and mid-size companies.”

Meanwhile, the SEC has not yet acted to finalize its proposed rule released Feb. 1, that would delay the Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404b auditor attestation on internal control for small co's, i.e. "nonaccelerated filers" - co's with less than $75 million market cap – to fiscal years ending on or after Dec. 15, 2009. (The Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404a management reporting requirement is already in place for small co's.)

Separately, a three judge panel in a DC Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments last month in the case brought by audit firm Beckstead and Watts, in conjunction with the Free Enterprise Fund, challenging the constitutionality of the PCAOB.

Read more on the above topics here.