Today, information technology plays a pivotal role in financial control and audit: most financial data is now digitally recorded and dispersed among servers, clouds and networks over which the audited firm has no control. Additionally, a firm's data―particularly in the case of finance, software, insurance and biotech firms―comprises most of the audited value of the firm. Financial audits are critical mechanisms for ensuring the integrity of information systems and the reporting of organizational finances. They help avoid the abuses that led to passage of legislation such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (1977), and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002).