Small and medium-sized public companies are putting themselves up for sale in order to avoid the costs of complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), which introduced major changes to the regulation of corporate governance and financial practice. SOX compliance is resulting in considerable increases in auditing fees and legal costs, as well as board compensation and directors and officers insurance, and the SEC's öne-size-fits-all" approach to SOX requirements means that the costs are proportionally greater for smaller public companies. As a result, such companies are looking to escape SOX burdens by becoming acquisition targets. Although it might seem risky for acquirers to buy firms that are not SOX compliant, low acquisition prices could offset this problem..