Sox First

With reports suggesting that small public companies expect they will soon be exempt from the more stringent requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has come out bagging Sarbanes-Oxley for hurting small business.

Otherwise known as the Sherriff of Wall Streer, Spitzer has been seen as pro-regulation. Still, there are few things like an election to help concentrate the mind. Building real connections is key to any election win. And these days, when you're a Democrat running for governor, it can pay to also side with the Republicans who have criticised Sarbanes-Oxley. More votes from business will not hurt his chances.

• Sarbanes-Oxley: It's crunch time for small companies
• News flash: No Sarbanes-Oxley exemptions for smaller companies
• Why Sarbanes-Oxley is not sending companies to London
• Obama dismantles post-Enron reforms
• Spitzer slams SOX changes
• Spitzer: crusader or thug?
• Blagojevich and Spitzer: a moral tale about power
• Harvey Pitt: Section 404 exemptions "too drastic and not necessary"
• Spitzer's demise is Wall Street's gain