The Securities and Exchange Commission today approved several of the Sarbanes-Oxley reforms.

The measures will require CEOs and CFOs to sign off on the financial filings from mutual funds and other registered management investment companies. They will also require companies to implement the “code of ethics” and “financial expert” disclosure requirements.

The SEC also voted to adopt numerous rules that are designed to strengthen auditor independence and require additional disclosures to investors about the services provided to issuers by the independent accountant.

These measures will:

  • revise the rules related to the non-audit services;
  • require that certain partners on the audit engagement team rotate;
  • establish rules defining independence;
  • require the auditor to report certain matters to the issuer’s audit committee, including “critical” accounting policies used by the issuer;
  • require the issuer’s audit committee to pre-approve all audit and non- audit services provided to the issuer by the auditor; and
  • require disclosures to investors of information related to audit and non-audit services provided by, and fees paid to, the auditor.

The new measures will be effective 90 days after their publication in the Federal Register, with appropriate transition periods for various provisions.