The total cost for public companies complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US dropped last year for the first time since the regulation took effect.

According to a study done by law firm Foley & Lardner, companies with less than $1bn (€793m) in revenues spent $2.9m in 2005 to be listed, a 16% decrease from the previous year, when companies spent $3.4m.