The management of a company which is in the process of implementing Section 404 needs to undertake a scoping of the entire project. This will include a number of steps. Scoping is helpful in determining the documentation required and the nature, timing and extent of testing required. Scoping is thus one of the most critical phases of a 404 project. The steps involved in scoping are as under: 1. The first step in a 404 scoping would be identifying significant Accounts. This should be done keeping in mind qualitative as well as quantitative measures, materiality levels as well as items disclosed seperately in Consolidated financial statements 2. Secondly, management should identify business processes and sub-processes and map the same to significant accounts 3. The next step in scoping invloves identifying relevant financial statement assertions for each and every significant account / disclosure. 4. The final step is performing a risk assessment of the identified business processes and sub-processes. The above four steps are neccesary for any Section 404 project scoping. Management can use the same in implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley act.