Sarbanes-Oxley makes publics go private. (News and Views).

In the recent past, many private companies were in a mad rush to go public to reap the benefits of an IPO. Now that the stock market has become more erratic, and new stringent regulations for public companies have been established by the recent Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, the trend has reversed itself. The number of public companies going private since last July, when Sarbanes-Oxley was passed, has increased 26% over a similar period prior to the legislation.

"Many of the recent regulatory changes benefit shareholders by making executives and directors more accountable," says Edward Nusbaum, Grant Thornton's CEO. "While this is great from a shareholder's perspective, companies that are publicly traded may now face additional burdens. Most of these regulatory reform provisions are focused squarely on public companies -- while their private company counterparts do not share these same requirements.

"These recent regulatory developments have increased the cost of being a public company," Nusbaum explains. And "going private could save a company accounting and legal fees associated with Securities and Exchange Commission filings, as well as executive time."

For more on this trend visit www.grantthornton.com.