Uncertainty fills the economic landscape. And it is not your ordinary local crisis; this time it is global. Some describe this unprecedented economic downturn as a tsunami battering and destroying the fundamentals of big business, even the world economy. It will take a while to fully unravel or hit rock bottom. Some say a year; others say longer ...

A major symptom of the current crisis actually surfaced in late 2001 when a string of financial scandals rocked corporate America. Among the venerable conglomerates that fell were Enron, Arthur Andersen, Worldcom, Tyco International … and the dominoes continued to fall even as we now find ourselves witnessing the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the massive bailouts of financial giants, the woes Detriots Big 3 and lately the US$50B fraud of Bernard Madoff …

In order to reform business practices in the US and prevent a repeat of the string of scandals, the US Congress passed what is popularly known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or SOX. It was designed to revive trust and confidence in major American companies. Soon, major world economies followed suit with their own versions of the SOX Law.

In Japan, a similar law was passed in 2006 now referred to as J-SOX which became effective in April 2008 for roughly 3,800 companies listed in Japan, along with their subsidiaries overseas.

The principles of J-SOX will continue to govern Japanese corporate practices through the current economic downturn. It also establishes the norms and standards of audit and accounting, corporate reporting and operating systems of large companies, not only from the standpoint of accounting policies and procedures, but more so in terms of how IT systems for emerging business organizations will be structured and operated.

Thus, during these difficult and uncertain times, we cannot under estimate the importance of understanding and appreciating this most wide-ranging and comprehensive transnational legislation on corporate governance, how it impacts interconnected global systems, and specifically what it means to you, your business and your IT practices today. More than ever before, IT governance drives organizations to closely monitor their risk exposures and compliance status. IT now assumes an increasingly prominent role in policy formulation and influencing how business are run.

In this connection, we are pleased to inform you that Netmarks Japan is currently conducting an Asian J-SOX Solutions Seminar Roadshow that has already been held in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. In February, the roadshow will cover Jakarta, Manila, Hanoi, Singapore and Shanghai. Netmarks Philippines, Inc. is therefore pleased to invite all Japanese companies in the Philippines who are covered by the J-SOX Law, or those major customers, suppliers or creditors are required to be J-SOX compliant. J-SOX observers are likewise welcome to participate in this important seminar on IT @ J-SOX.