State of compliance: Automation catching on?

I know, I know. Most corporate surveys tend to be mere marketing. An attempt by a company to get some press, get its name "out there," and associate its brand with the appropriate issues. So we all take them with a grain of salt. Still, the Approva 2007 compliance survey of high-level finance, audit and IT execs included some interesting nuggets. "52 percent of respondents said their company will be spending less, 31 percent said they will be spending the same, and only 17 percent said they will be spending more." This strikes me as true for large companies but not so true for small companies, which are ramping up now. "83 percent of respondents are aware of the new guidance related to SOX from the SEC and PCAOB." Are you kidding? This strikes me as low. 53 percent of companies are not using a software solution to automate SOX compliance. "Of the 47 percent who are using software solutions, 34 percent report that between 30-50 percent of their controls remain manual versus automated." I have to think these numbers will head north.

For more:
- here's the survey results