One far-reaching piece of U.S. legislation, for example, is the Accounting Reform and
Investor Protection Act (commonly known as the Sarbanes–Oxley Act or SOX), passed
in response to the accounting scandals mentioned earlier. Among different stipulations,
Sarbanes–Oxley increases a CEO’s and CFO’s personal responsibility for the accuracy of
reported accounting data. It also strengthens the independence of accounting firms (they
are no longer allowed to provide consulting services to the firms they audit) and affords
stronger protection for whistleblowers.