The recently-ended recession has taken a toll on a lot of companies. But many wisely stayed the course with their internal financial controls programs, and many continued to invest.

Of more than 400 respondents to Protiviti's "2011 Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Survey", nearly 90 percent said that their compliance programs weren't hurt, and 45 percent said that that internal control over financial reporting at their companies is better now than a year ago. With that said, it's possible that some ill effects of the recession may show up later.

Bob Hirth, Protiviti executive vice president and leader of the firm's global internal audit and financial controls practice, told ComputerWorld that, "It may take a number of years to gain a clear picture of the effects the global economic crisis may have created. If an organization reduced its workforce or streamlined its processes with a resulting effect on its internal control structure, mistakes may increase over time. Given this, it will be interesting to monitor these survey results over the next few years to see what patterns develop."

The larger question here is whether we'll see a pop in criminal activity, which many predicted as the recession and subsequent slow recovery got underway. Desperate times leads to desperate acts. But is it fair to assume that all the investment in heightened financial controls in recent years--much of it related to Sarbanes Oxley--may have prevented that.

All in all, it's comforting that more executives have seen the benefits of compliance, a process that apparently is as streamlined as ever. It's also good news that costs continue to decline-the first few years are considered the most expensive--and likely will again next year. Many are now starting to bring more Sarbox work in house. 

For more:
- here's the article
- here's the release

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