There is nothing new under the sun, particularly in accountancy

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SARBANES-OXLEY is turning into the Y2K of accountancy. The bill for this legislative extravaganza is causing outcry among large companies, many European, with shares listed on American stock exchanges.

General Electric is the latest to put a price tag on compliance with the new corporate governance rules, suggesting that just one paragraph in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act — Section 404, which deals with the audit and testing of internal financial controls — will cost GE some $30 million (£17 million). In the UK, BP has complained that compliance with new corporate governance rules, mainly Sarbanes-Oxley, will cost $125 million.