This study was to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative data collection methods that were used to inform the investigation on the inspiration from Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The investigation was based on secondary data from different articles with detailed information on the reasons that led Representative Michael G. Oxley (R-OH) and the U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes to propose the act and its implications on the accuracy of corporate financial statements (Wagner and Dittmar 2006). Cunningham (2002) argues that the act obliges top managers with the oversight role to ensure accurate financial reporting are under the mandatory obligation to certify the accuracy of corporate financial statements.
King and Horrocks (2010) argue that both the qualitative and quantitative methods were applied by the researcher to collect and analyze the secondary data. Qualitative data was based on sources that discussed the underlying factors that led the U.S. Senator and Representative to propose the enactment of the law. The qualitative approach provided information on the sections of the acts, which were divided into eleven titles including the obligations and responsibilities of corporate entities’ inaccurate financial reporting and the criminal penalties that corporations and individual managers could be subjected to if they violate any section of the act. That is beside the requirements outlined in the act on how organizations should implement and comply with each section of the act to adhere to the law. The qualitative paradigm provided the framework for establishing the issues covered by the act such as auditor independence, internal assessments and controls, corporate governance, and enhanced financial disclosure and the direct effects such issues could have on the implementation of SOX.
An analysis of the quantitative paradigm as noted by Yin (2010) based on secondary data shows that the method provides the framework to analyze the number of corporate entities that were adversely affected by inaccurate financial reporting and the effects on the financial performance of the organizations. That was beside the number of legislators who voted in favor of the act. Typically, when the act was subjected to the vote, 8 representatives abstained, 423 voted in favor, 3 opposed. On the Senatorial vote, 1 abstained and 99 voted in favor of the act. Later, President George Bush signed the act into law and asserted that America had been transformed from the era of false profits to a period of accurate financial reporting and high standards. Tashakkori and Teddlie (2010) provide the statistical basis for measuring the rising number of countries including Canada, Japan, Germany, France, South Africa, Turkey, Australia, India, Italy, and Israel among others that steadily adopted different sections and the SOX act, demonstrating how inspired countries were in adopting the act.
Both the qualitative and quantitative research paradigms were applied for an evaluation of the analysis of the mixed research methods on the perceptions and responses of different players in the financial industry and organizations to the strict application of the act shows opposing views. (Schwartz 2008). For instance, a survey conducted in the USA and commissioned by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed the undesirable experience America has gone through.
In conclusion, both qualitative and quantitative paradigms provided strong frameworks for conducting the research using mixed research methods on the inspiration from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) based on a review of various articles that discuss the act and its implications on accurate financial reporting.
References
Cunningham, Lawrence A. “Sarbanes-Oxley Yawn: Heavy Rhetoric, Light Reform The.” Conn. L. Rev. 35 (2002): 915.
King, N., and C. Horrocks. Interviews in qualitative research. New York: Sage, 2010.
Tashakkori, A. and C. Teddlie. Sage handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. New York: Sage, 2010.
Schwartz, Rachael E. “The Clawback Provision of Sarbanes-Oxley: An Underutilized Incentive to Keep the Corporate House Clean.” The Business Lawyer 64, no.1 (2008): 1-35.
Wagner, Stephen, and Lee Dittmar. “The unexpected benefits of Sarbanes-Oxley.” Harvard business review 84, no. 4 (2006): 133.
Yin, Robert K. Qualitative research from start to finish. Guilford Press, 2010.