Two heartland banks are delisting to become private companies in order to ditch the burdens of compliance, namely Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Northeast Indiana Bancorp announced that it plans to delist from Nasdaq. Additionally, Peoples Bancorp also voted to delist because "It is becoming increasingly expensive to be a listed company and be filing with the SEC,” he said. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s “Section 404 disproportionately burdens smaller companies.”

..."Because we believe that the advantages of continuing as a public company are far outweighed by the disadvantages. As a public reporting company, Peoples Bancorp incurs significant accounting, legal and administrative costs that are associated with compliance with the SEC's reporting requirements, which can be expected to increase due to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We believe that the cost savings we will realize by going private will have a positive impact on the Corporation's results of operation and will allow management to focus more of its attention on the Corporation's business.

The "disproportionate burden" presumption is oftentimes expressed, but it is somewhat bogus. Sarbanes-Oxley is an attack on private property, whether the business is large or small. Sure, small businesses typically don't have the manpower to maintain a SOX program in-house, so they often bring in consultants to build and/or maintain a progressive system for financial processes and controls. But alas, not all "large" businesses are cash cows and thus apt to take on hefty compliance costs. Gigantacorps like General Electric may cheer on SOX (because it hinders their less fortunate competitors), but other Fortune 500 companies are crippled by the costs, as well as the strain it places on their most valuable resources - time and people. Many of these companies are in the process of downsizing and rethinking their business models, while SOX compliance adds cost and the need for manpower. All said, the disproportionate effect is less than what most people think. Sarbanes-Oxley is an equal opportunity impediment for all.