The SAS 70 Type II assurance confirms that the Sterling Information Broker infrastructure has passed rigorous third-party testing and that it has strict processes in place relating to security, application development, communications, customer service and disaster planning - all integral to the mandatory requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley.
The vast majority of European businesses appear to be playing ‘compliance catch-up’ according to a recent study (1) of 376 European companies. This study found only 2% of respondents had completed the full compliance cycle, from assessment to remediation for Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Sterling Commerce believes this figure presents a potential board-level headache if schedules are not being set in place now to deliver the months of ‘man-hours’ necessary to develop, document, test and certify not just financial results, but also the processes by which they are determined, in time for the Section 404 compliance deadline of July 15th 2005.
Nolan Rosen, Sterling Commerce chief marketing officer, said: “Compliance does not happen overnight. With Sarbanes-Oxley deadlines looming for European companies, especially those with US listings, it is vital that steps are taken now to address the rudimentary compliance cycles. The assurance of the SAS 70 Type II audit is very important to us and our customers. It demonstrates that we are committed to meeting strict industry regulations around the handling and reporting of business information and that our technologies can assist businesses in meeting mandatory compliance legislations. It’s gratifying to be able to say that our customer-driven efforts are paying off.”
During the past three years, Sterling Commerce has invested an additional €22.8 million ($30 million) in building out its network capabilities, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to the value-added network business. Just two months ago, Sterling Information Broker set an industry transaction record with more than 100 billion monthly characters. This figure continues to climb, with recent reports indicating that customers are exchanging information in record-breaking amounts.
Rosen concluded: "With information exchange on the increase it is reassuring to know that more than half the top 10 companies in every major industry sector trust Sterling Commerce solutions because they are built on an understanding of industry legislation and a foundation of 30 years industry experience and credibility."
(1) Research conducted by ARC Morgan, a Netherlands-based consulting firm specialising in financial control management - Summer 2004.
