We examine the effects of compensation on the quality of internal control and provide the first evidence relating the time horizon of ex ante performance-based compensation incentives and internal control quality over financial reporting in the SOX 404 era. Specifically, we find that for CEOs and CFOs, the sensitivity of the option portfolio to stock price changes and the proportion of compensation received from long-term incentive plans are related to the propensity to report internal control weaknesses during the period 2004-2006.