Sarbanes-Oxley Hitting Smallest Firms Hardest

Enterprise Bancorp, a $55 million company based in Lowell, MA saw its audit costs increase by 100 percent, from $140,000 to $280,000, the first year it was public, CFO Jim Marcotte told the “Boston Business Journal.” Enterprise Bancorp’s experience is consistent with that of other small business companies, which is why the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce filed a report to the SEC when the commission submitted its request for public comment on possible modifications to Sarbanes-Oxley to meet the needs of smaller firms. “Sarbanes-Oxley has become one more burden in the steep climb towards an initial public offering that is especially difficult for small companies,” states the report.