65% of Sr. Financial Officers of Public Companies Say It's Harder Today to Recruit Directors, Citing Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Increased Director Liability.

CHICAGO -- Grant Thornton survey finds 80% want greater transparency in financial reporting, revenue-recognition statement

Sixty-five percent of senior financial executives of public companies surveyed say it's more difficult today to recruit corporate directors because of the three-year-old federal Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-disclosure law and concerns about higher director liability.

A survey commissioned by Grant Thornton LLP also found that the vast majority of chief financial officers and other senior financial executives want greater transparency in financial reporting and a comprehensive revenue-recognition statement. They also overwhelmingly support uniform global accounting standards and a principle-based approach to accounting standards.

Finding qualified directors to serve on boards has proven more difficult in recent years as shareholder lawsuits have raised concerns about director liability.

"Sarbanes-Oxley was a needed watershed event in corporate governance, but along with the greater protection of investors, there are increased time requirements for directors," says Ed Nusbaum, Grant Thornton LLP chief executive officer. "But an even greater obstacle is the fear of litigation."

While most senior financial executives of publicly held companies believe it's more difficult today to recruit directors, 78 percent of those from privately held companies haven't found it to be a problem. That's not so surprising since most privately held companies don't face the regulatory oversight that their publicly held counterparts do from Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations or the threat of class-action shareholder lawsuits.

Almost eight-in-10 senior financial executives surveyed believe greater transparency in financial reporting and a comprehensive revenue-recognition statement are necessary. As for the need for a comprehensive revenue-recognition statement, seven-of-eight financial executives from public companies support such a set of comprehensive guidelines for how and when companies should report revenue.

"The idea of making financial reporting more understandable and relevant to business today is something the Enhanced Business Reporting (EBR) consortium is championing," says Nusbaum. "This group counts respected international organizations among its strategic partners, including the Business Roundtable; Confederation of British Industry; International Chamber of Commerce; National Association of Corporate Directors; NASDAQ; and National Investor Relations Institute. The EBR consortium is led by Grant Thornton partner Mike Starr."

Among other findings from Grant Thornton's survey of senior financial executives:

--85 percent of the CFOs favor uniform global accounting standards.

--89 percent support adoption of a principles-based approach to accounting standards.

--79 percent think the current reporting model needs to be updated.

--77 percent believe that there is too great a concentration of public audits by the Big Four accounting firms, which audit 97 percent of public company revenues.

--76 percent agree stock options should be expensed.

--74 percent consider it appropriate for an accounting firm to do both audit and tax work for a company.

--63 percent see a "realistic chance" that one of the Big Four firms could fail within the next three years, and if it that happens, 78 percent don't think the other three firms could adequately handle the business.

Asked how many global accounting firms there are, 33 percent of the CFOs said "four," while 25 percent said "six," 22 percent said "eight", 14 percent said "seven" and 7 percent said "five."

The survey was conducted for Grant Thornton by the Center for Strategy, Execution and Valuation at DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business.

About the survey

The Senior Financial Executive Survey of Current Issues in Financial Reporting was commissioned by Grant Thornton LLP. Survey questionnaires were e-mailed to chief financial officers, controllers and treasurers from public and private companies across the United States, with revenues ranging from less than $100 million to more than $2 billion. The Web-based survey was conducted from May 18 and May 27, 2004, with senior financial executives of 101 companies responding.

About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International, one of the six global accounting, tax and business advisory organizations. Through member firms in 110 countries, including 49 offices in the United States, the partners and employees of Grant Thornton member firms provide personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and private clients around the globe. Visit Grant Thornton LLP at www.GrantThornton.com.