Around the turn of the century, there were a number ofscandals that led to the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In order to conceal their financial losses from the public and maintain artificially high stock prices, some publicly listed companiesEnron and WorldCom were two of the most notablerelied on accounting fraud, shell firms, and other dishonest methods. When the deceit could no longer be sustained and the stock price fell, executives and board members cashed out, leaving investors holding the bag.

What are the main requirements to implement this Act by companies that operate in the public capital market in the United States?