Compare and contrast the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act

What will be an ideal response?

The large number of high-profile companies engaged in fraudulent acts during the end of the 1990s and beginning of the 2000s led to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This act establishes new rules regarding corporate accounting, government oversight, and financial regulations. Although the act applies only to publicly held companies, many of the act's rules influence the behavior of private and nonprofit organizations. Specifically, the act seeks to eliminate the conflicts of interest that can lead to fraudulent activity. For example, the act establishes the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which seeks to ensure proper accounting practices; mandates the separation of audit and non-audit services; and requires corporate officials to certify their financial statements, which makes those officials responsible and liable for fraudulent statements. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act contains provisions that prevent publicly traded companies from firing, demoting, suspending, and otherwise discriminating against or harassing any employee who reports (blows the whistle on) corporate wrongdoing to the government.
The Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), similar to portions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, is intended to offer protections to those who act as whistleblowers. Whereas Sarbanes-Oxley protects private citizens, the WPA offers protections to federal employees who report illegal governmental activities. The WPA, originally enacted in 1989, offers protections to the vast majority of federal executive-branch employees. Congress explained the intent of the WPA as encouraging honest and responsible government by offering protections for those employees who know of governmental wrongdoing. Generally, the WPA applies to present and past federal executive-branch employees, as well as applicants for such jobs. The WPA does not cover all of these federal executive employees. Positions that are related to policy making and policy determination, as well as positions related to foreign intelligence or counterintelligence, are not protected by the WPA. In addition, federal employees in the following areas are also not protected by the WPA: the postal service, the Government Accountability Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, as well as several other agencies' employees.