Movaris develops and sells Certainty, Sarbanes-Oxley-specific compliance software. It offers these five tips for ensuring your organization has a strong, proactive internal controls process that can stand up to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements and drive deeper business benefits down the road.

* Start now. If you wait any longer, your chances of developing the best and lowest-cost solution decrease over time.

* Build a cross-organizational team. Involve a strong, broad-based and high-level team -- spanning both business units and finance -- in the process of defining your needs, choosing your solution and implementing it.

* Realize the process is ongoing. You can’t just comply once and forget it. Base your Sarbanes-Oxley project on the understanding that internal control is an ongoing process, subject to definition, continual monitoring, testing and revisions, Movaris says.

* Choose your software wisely.  Select a software solution that is based on a proven business process management (BPM) platform, is easy to implement, flexible and is designed specifically for Sarbanes-Oxley.

* Be your auditor’s friend. Develop a close relationship with your independent auditor. Involve them in the testing and evaluation process and share problems and preliminary results, so that when you get to the finish line, their attestation of your internal controls won't be a surprise.

For more information, visit Movaris here.