[JURIST] The US Securities and Exchange Commission [official website] voted 5-0 at a public meeting Wednesday to give small public companies an additional extra year to comply with requirements to file reports on the strength of their internal financial controls under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 [PDF text]. As with last year's extension for small businesses [JURIST report], the SEC decision was driven by complaints from smaller companies that they lack the resources to easily undergo the expensive reviews. SEC Chairman Christopher Cox [official biography], recently chosen by President Bush to lead the agency, stressed that the additional reprieve "in no way reflects any desire to back away" from the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley law. Thursday's Washington Post has more.