The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted to reduce the number of unethical business decisions by requiring the accountability of publicly traded companies.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in 2002 in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals, including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, and WorldCom. Its main purpose is to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, thus reducing unethical business decisions through increased accountability of publicly traded companies.