If success is about getting what you want, happiness is about wanting what you get.

With that in mind, it's worth checking this provocative warning from Thomas A. Basilo, chairman & CEO of WithumSmith+Brown Global Assurance in the latest Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal.

Basilo warns that the report from the SEC subcommittee recommending exempting smaller listed companies from Section 404 tests on internal controls could backfire.

First, it could shift the financial burden for fraud from the corporation to key individuals.

He also warns that it's also more likely to leave the outfits vulnerable to law suits.

"The only remedy for investors when there is no presiding law is litigation. If any type of fraud occurs in a company, the shareholders will litigate on the grounds that the company failed to maintain an effective internal control system."

And, he says, running two different auditor attestations, one for the big companies and another for the small caps, and two different accounting standards, will simply not wash with investors.

Still, reports suggest the campaign to roll back Sarbanes-Oxley is gathering momentum and it looks like smaller businesses will be successful. If Basilo is right, the question will be whether they will end up happy.