Two technology companies have announced a partnership to help owners of small and medium-sized businesses meet the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The demanding internal control rules in Section 404 have caused U.S. public companies and their auditors the most headaches since the 2002 law went into effect.

Magic Software Enterprises, which provides business integration and development technology, and BWise BV, which offers corporate governance, risk and compliance software, are joining together to give businesses another option to comply with SOX.

The partnership will incorporate Magic Software's iBOLT and iBOLT Portal solutions so that BWise can resell its SOX software (BWise 3.0 isCO) to smaller businesses. The companies say that the combined application is affordable, quick to install and easy to use. BWise uses iBOLT and iBOLT Portal solutions to collect, automate and store the information for the internal control review.

“Our partnership with Magic will increase our attractiveness to become the application of choice for CFOs and senior financial management, and to better control issues of corporate governance, related processes, operational risk and performance indicators within the enterprise," said BWise CEO Robert Pijselman in a statement.

Avigdor Luttinger, who heads Magic's iBOLT program, said the partnership will address the “real urgent needs” of small businesses. “We bring our partners and customers a certified methodology, smart and simple reporting, state-of-the-art Web technology for efficient data processing, and low cost of ownership,” he said in a statement.