Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Hilda Shepeard

Abstract

AbstractNonprofit organizations (NPOs) do not have a mandated requirement for implementing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002; however, small Chicago NPOs had voluntarily implemented SOX provisions. The passage of SOX impacted the manner in which NPOs govern, provide disclosures, and audit their records. It was not known what the experiences, including facilitators or barriers, had been in that effort. The accountability mechanism theory by Ostrower and Stone provided the framework for this study. The key research questions focused on what major SOX provisions were most useful to implement and the experiences faced in the voluntary implementation of the SOX provisions. Executive directors and a financial officer from six NTEE 20, small NPOs’ executive director, financial officer, or board director were interviewed. Data were manually coded and analyzed using a modified Van Kaam procedure to identify themes. The five themes that emerged included fiscal stewards and financial stability, auditing professionals, policy implementation, funding requirements, and executive recommendations. The findings indicated that the major barrier to voluntary implementation was the lack of funding and the need for changes in the SOX regulation to provide a mechanism for obtaining funding for small NPOs to facilitate the implementation of SOX provisions. The implications for positive social change is a baseline of ways to help small NPOs improve their financial accountability through the voluntary implementation of SOX provisions and may encourage public officials to create legislation that includes public and organizations and NPOs.

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