Legislation to ease the burden of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements onsmall businesses was introduced in the House on Wednesday, drawingpraise from the Property Casualty Insurers Association ofAmerica.

Introduced by Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Fla., the Competitive and OpenMarkets that Protect and Enhance the Treatment of Entrepreneurs, orCOMPETE Act, would establish alternative SOX requirements thatsmaller companies could comply with. It also would mandate the useof risk-based concepts in evaluating internal controls regardingfinancial reporting for all public companies

The bill calls for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Boardto assess the efficiency of audit practices in its inspections ofpublic accounting firms, and along with the Securities and ExchangeCommission, to clearly define key terms in the SOX law for auditorsand accountants.

“While the Sarbanes-Oxley Act gave investors the confidence toreturn to the marketplace following the Enron and WorldComscandals, the time has come for Congress to reconsider many of itsburdensome provisions that restrict the growth of smaller companiesaround the country,” said PCI president and chief executive officerErnie Csiszar in a statement.

He added that for smaller companies compliance costs are“disproportionately arduous, hampering innovation, development andthe cost of obtaining access to our nation's equity markets.”

Mr. Csiszar said the “sensible” legislation would give companieswith a market cap of less than $700 million an alternate set ofcompliance requirements that would increase their ability togrow.

“This legislation will facilitate the competitiveness that openmarkets and innovation bring to our nation's economy,” he added.“Without changes of this nature, increasing numbers of smallercompanies may choose to remain private, limiting their growth anddamaging our nation's global competitiveness.”