Jim Finelli

"Sarbanes-Oxley: Impact on Business and Information Technology"

Thursday, February 8, noon (bring your own lunch, drinks and desserts will be provided)

Rauch Business Center - Room 85

In this seminar we will cover the basics of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed
in 2002 in the wake of several notable business failures (i.e., Enron,
Worldcom), and the impact on financial reporting compliance requirements
for publicly held companies listed on the US stock exchanges.  We will
examine how internal controls over information technology, finance and
accounting intersect with the requirements of the Act and the related
impact on company personnel, as well as public accounting firms.  We will
also cover some of the challenges that Sarbanes-Oxley presents to the
design, development and implementation of information systems, inclusive
of the continued focus on optimization and automation of controls.  The
discussion will include the potential implications of recent regulatory
guidance proposed in relation to feedback on the perceived high-cost of
compliance with the Act.


Jim Finelli is a Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Florham
Park, NJ.  Jim has been performing system audits and consulting with PwC
for the past 9 years in the Systems and Business Process Assurance (SPA)
practice with a focus on both information technology and business process
controls.  Prior to joining the group, he was a financial auditor with PwC
for 3 years.  Jim has worked on a wide variety of client engagement during
his tenure with PwC and his current portfolio includes companies in the
healthcare, energy distribution and industrial products industries.  For
the past 3 years, he has spent a significant amount of his time working
with clients to validate their Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements.  He
holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a
concentration in Accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in
the State of NJ.