August 2008: Volume 8

The whistle-blower provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is one of the Act’s provisions that must be followed by nonprofit organizations as well as publicly traded companies. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, criminal penalties, including fines and prison sentences up to 10 years, may be enforced against any person who retaliates against someone who provides truthful information about a federal offense. What this means in practical terms is that all companies, including nonprofit groups, should establish procedures for receiving and dealing with concerns and complaints about the organization, such as the organization’s financial practices.

This month we discuss this further and provide samples of three basic policies:

1. Employee whistle-blower policy
2. Basic whistle-blower policy
3. Audit committee policy

Employee
whistle-blower policy

Basic
whistle-blower policy

Audit committee policy