Boeing struggles with Sarbanes-Oxley

Sarbanes-Oxley is a wide-ranging law aimed at preventing stockholder rip-offs like the Enron scandal from happening again. Among its requirements, it forced public companies like Boeing to shine a light on their internal controls. It must show it has checks and balances on people and computer systems to guarantee accuracy of financial statements.

The P-I provides a rare glimpse into Boeing's struggles with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance in its information technology department.

Computer security faults put Boeing at risk
For the past three years, The Boeing Co. has failed, in both internal and external audits, to prove it can properly protect its computer systems against manipulation, theft and fraud.

Businesses say accounting reform costly, onerous
Sarbanes-Oxley was passed as a tool to restore honesty to corporate behavior and reassure investors. But many businesses say it's onerous and costly and hurts U.S. competitiveness.

Boeing has been stung by internal theft before
Information security controls are meant to do a lot more than stop hackers and kill computer viruses -- especially because corporate fraud comes from within. Internal fraud can happen to any size firm -- even tech-savvy Boeing.

Boeing responds
Before providing executives for interviews, The Boeing Co. asked the Seattle P-I to outline its questions in written form. The P-I submitted two rounds of questions, which are displayed here along with the company's official responses:
- Round One | Round Two

Follow-up articles

The world of audit contracts is in the money
Some folks familiar with the world of regulatory compliance have joked: Those who can, do. Those who can't, audit. Perhaps those folks should add, "and make gobs of money." A look at the high-stakes arena of audit contracts.

SEC unanimously votes for new rules to lower audit costs
Nearly five years after the passage of a sweeping corporate accounting reform law, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission threw a lifeline to public companies by voting to accept new rules that would lower audit costs.

Boeing worker says he was fired for talking to P-I
The Boeing Co. fired at least one employee Friday for having a conversation with the Seattle P-I in July, the employee said.

Boeing bosses spy on workers
Reading private e-mails, following workers, collecting footage of them -- it's not the latest Bond flick, but rather how The Boeing Co. investigates its employees, the P-I has learned.

Progress made in computer compliance, Boeing says
The Boeing Co. has told the Seattle P-I, in response to questions, that it is making progress on its Sarbanes-Oxley compliance testing in its information technology department, despite auditor turnover.