Eye on the Market

A recent survey has found that many publicly traded companies are still trying to take measures to make sure they are in compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002.

The survey, released late in 2003 by the Association for Information Management Professionals (ARMA International), Lenexa, Kan., and the opinion research firm International Communications Research (ICR) included the responses of some 150 executives at publicly traded companies.

Although Sarbanes-Oxley has been in force for more than one year, responding companies say they are still struggling to understand if they are doing everything necessary to comply with the law’s provisions, according to a news release from ARMA International that summarizes the survey’s findings.

Some respondents were more comfortable than others concerning their knowledge of the law, with 30 percent of the 150 executives surveyed saying their company would be "very well prepared" to face the challenge of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into its information control practices. Companies with such fears would seem to make ideal targeted clients for information storage companies in particular.

According to ARMA International, "The survey results underscore the fact that most U.S. companies have a long way to go toward Sarbanes-Oxley compliance."

Some Mergers, But Is It A Mania?

In an appearance at the 2003 annual conference of the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID), in Orlando, Fla., last May, investment banker Michael R. West predicted further consolidation within the industry, but also noted that the buying peak may already have been reached.

Since West’s presentation, there has been additional consolidation within the document storage and destruction industry, but the rate of activity has not been frenzied.

Iron Mountain Inc., Boston, has made subsequent acquisitions in the second half of 2003, including the purchase of Iowa-based Shred All LLC. The company has also reconfigured and added to its European operations.

Recall, the Norcross, Ga.-based subsidiary of Australia’s Brambles Industries Ltd., has also made few public acquisition announcements in the past seven months.

A new player in the market is Cintas Corp., Mason, Ohio, a uniform company that has reportedly purchased several mobile shredding firms, starting in the Ohio River Valley area.

Identity Theft Remains Rampant

A new study from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) indicates identity theft is not going away as a crime problem.

"National and State Trends in Fraud & Identity Theft," released in January by the FTC in cooperation with its Consumer Sentinel database and Identity Theft Clearinghouse, shows reported incidents of identity theft jumped to nearly 215,000 in 2003, up from slightly more than 160,000 the year before, based on FTC complaint data.

As a percentage of FTC complaints, identity theft continues to grow, rising to 42 percent of total complaints last year, up from 40 percent in 2002.

In releasing its alarming numbers, the FTC notes, "Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years - and their hard-earned money - cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, education, housing or cars, or even get arrested for crimes they didn’t commit."

Identity Theft: Most Active States/2003

State                                  Victims Per 100,000            No. of Victims

Arizona                                122.4                                   6,832

Nevada                                 113.4                                  2,541