'SOX' is an acronym for the 2002 Sarbannes-Oxley Act which requires independent audits of publicly traded firms, as opposed to the previously internally conducted audits which were 'performed' by 'auditors' who also held management consulting positions within the company. This led to an extreme conflict of interest. The internal 'auditors', who were collecting double paychecks, essentially 'looked the other way' and allowed SERIOUS misrepresentations to be entered on the books of companies.