http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/5407274?f=alerts

Whistle-blower Shield Stops at Border (Court rules that some overseas workers are not protected by this provision of Sarbanes-Oxley) Stephen Taub, CFO.com January 18, 2006

The whistle-blower protections of SOX do not extend to foreign workers employed by the overseas subsidiaries of U.S. companies, according to a court ruling reported by The National Law Journal. The Judge wrote that is this type of provision was meant to apply to foreign entities, that Congress would have specified this. Also that it did not set aside funds, provide for translators, etc. This ruling is related to an Argentinian in 2002 working for Brazilian subsidiaries of Boston Science Company who was fired in retaliation for reporting to the parent company how the subsidiares had inflated revenues. Also included in the article is discussion of the controversy of whistle blowing in Europe.

http://www.ouncelabs.com/audit/
IT AUDIT VETERAN OFFERS PEER-REVIEWED SOFTWARE SECURITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK
Take a look at the pdf release of Software Security Assurance - A Framework for Software Vulnerability Management and Audit. Mapped to relevant industry regulations and standards, including Sarbanes-Oxley, ISO 17799, COBIT, and COSO* controls, the Framework offers chief risk and compliance officers, audit teams, and security professionals guidance on effective software risk management controls.
Charles Le Grand, is the primary author, a previous director of the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation, amd served as IIA’s CIO, and an auditor for over 30 years. The peer-reviewed Framework offers detailed audit checklists and defines the software security roles for all levels of management and technical responsibility across the enterprise. While you do have to register at the site, the 69 page document is available free of charge for use. The discussion of risk is one both professors and students will find beneficial.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/full_list/

Fortune's 100 Best companies to work for in 2006
Check out the accounting firms listed....#12 is Plante & Moran, the highest ranked public accounting firm and has been for a number of years...why? Because of it's jerk free workforce. This small firm, also has company in the top 100 with Ernst & Young (#67) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (#71). Notice the emphasis on the the people aspect of accounting. I had to smile about the Intuit #43 placement - Fortune says: "These brainiacs know how to party. The inventors of Quicken, TurboTax, and other financial tools are legendary for their Friday afternoon socials, summer cookouts, and beach parties at the end of tax season."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4616700.stm

First impressions count for web Internet users make up their minds about the quality of a website in the blink of an eye.
ACanadian team showed volunteers glimpses of websites, lfor only 50 milliseconds. The volunteers then had to rate the websites in terms of their aesthetic appeal. The findings were that the speedily formed conclusions were close to opinions of the websites that had been made after much longer periods of examination. The article continues to discuss the impact of the "halo effect".