http://www.ey.com/global/download.nsf/US/Perspectives_on_Internal_Control_Reporting/$file/PerspectivesInternalControlReporting12-21-04.pdf

This collaborative effort of the Big 4 is an informative 48 page document that provides sample internal control reports required by Sarbanes Oxley, as of its release date December 21, 2004. It is written in a nice format with 28 specific questions asked and answered that walks the reader through the issues. This resource is a nice digest of material for those unfamiliar with the Act's requirements, the background leading to the act, clarifying material weaknesses, and how these changes should benefit the capital markets.

http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/US/AABS_-_TSRS_-_TC_Webcast_404_IT_Issues_Matter

This is an 8 page PDF file that summarizes the collaborative Big Four firms report as of December 2004 for internal control issues in the financial reporting process for investors. The document is generally written including explaining some of the basics that stem from the Sarbanes Oxley requirements.

http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/US/AABS_-_TSRS_-_TC_Webcast_404_IT_Issues_Matter
This followup to Ernst & Young's webcast on Evalutating 404 IT deficiencies, is a nice capsule of some of the considerations addressed in the 90 minute webcast. In addition to explaining some terminology, there was also discussion of the role of qualitative factors such as distinguishing between a highly centralized IT-dependent environment, and a decentralized environoment. Also the relationship between exceptions and deficiencies are addressed briefly. There is an additional link at this site to the archived document in full.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~2652311,00.html

This article from the Denver newspaper is discussing the present angst of Peoplesoft employees as they wait to see if they still have jobs following the Oracle merger. The article talks about the impact on the Denver area, and also some concerns about knowledge transfer in the company compared to the way a prior merger of J. D. Edwards was handled.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.02/firefox.html


The Firefox Explosion By Josh McHugh
This article is about the new secure, open source browser called Firefox that consumers will find useful. Hackers have not attempted yet to wreak havoc on this option.