Oracle is going further into Sarbanes-Oxley territory with the release of the latest version of Internal Controls Manager and Oracle Financial Consolidation Hub.

Both applications are part of the Oracle E-Business suite. The new versions enhancements should facilitate integrationg financial statement preparation with periodic evaluation of internal controls.

Oracle's rationale is that financial reporting and internal control evaluation have traditionally been separate activities. Thus those preparing financial statements did so without knowledge of the risks, mitigations and audit tests that lay behind each line.

The new releases enable Internal Controls Manager to be integratedwith Financial Consolidation Hub. This would if successful, enable reporting processes to converge with compliance processes.

The obvious compliance event has to be the infamous Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which requires companies and their auditors to attest to the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. Other acts include the HIPAA.

As we move into the second year of companies having to comply with section 404, many of them will be looking to automate the process of ensuring compliance. Some will even be moving on from automation to integrate with other areas and ultimately improve the bottom line.

Oracle claim that successful SOX certification is more than simple quarterly reporting and internal control reviews.

Instead consistent automated processes, real-time visibility into results and proactive monitoring of potential risks are also required.

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Internal Controls Manager and Financial Consolidation Hub