Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Small Business Audit Correction Act of 2026
A Republican bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is known as the Small Business Audit Correction Act of 2026. It amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to exclude certain privately held brokers and dealers from specific audit requirements under title I of that Act. To qualify for this exclusion, these entities must be non-carrying brokers or dealers and must be in good standing. The bill provides clear definitions for what it means to be "in good standing," "non-carrying broker or dealer," and "privately held." It also requires the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to update their regulations to match these new changes within 180 days. Finally, the bill ensures that these qualifying brokers and dealers must still use auditors who are qualified and independent, and they must still file required exemption reports.
Yes
- Scored +6
Would business owners be better off under this?
Qualifying privately held small business brokers and dealers benefit from reduced audit compliance requirements.
- Scored +6
Does this make it easier to run a small business?
The bill reduces regulatory and financial compliance burdens for qualifying privately held, non-carrying brokers and dealers.
The opposite
- Scored -4
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
Excluding certain entities from specific Sarbanes-Oxley audit requirements could be seen as reducing oversight and transparency.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Section 2(a) amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to exclude privately held, non-carrying brokers and dealers that are in good standing from certain audit requirements. This might be considered positive because it could reduce regulatory and financial burdens for qualifying small businesses that meet all the strict rules of being "in good standing" and "non-carrying."
-
Section 2(b) requires the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to update their regulations to carry out this Act. This is positive for clarity, ensuring that government agencies align their rules with the new law so that people understand how qualifying businesses can satisfy their annual audit obligations using generally accepted auditing standards.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Section 2(a) excludes certain brokers and dealers from specific title I audit requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This might be considered a negative burden or risk by individuals who believe that removing these specific audits could reduce oversight and transparency for these financial entities, potentially impacting investor protection.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would business owners be better off under this? — Qualifying privately held small business brokers and dealers benefit from reduced audit compliance requirements.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make it easier to run a small business? — The bill reduces regulatory and financial compliance burdens for qualifying privately held, non-carrying brokers and dealers.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — Excluding certain entities from specific Sarbanes-Oxley audit requirements could be seen as reducing oversight and transparency.
- 9/22/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.