Final answer:
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 imposes criminal penalties for corporate governance and accounting lapses in response to major financial scandals, aiming to protect investors and improve corporate disclosure reliability.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 indeed imposes criminal penalties for corporate governing and accounting lapses. This legislative act was a response to a series of major accounting scandals by corporations such as Enron, Tyco International, and WorldCom. These scandals severely shook public confidence in financial reporting and highlighted the need for a stringent regulatory framework. Sarbanes-Oxley aims to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws, and for other purposes, which includes establishing stricter criminal penalties for financial fraud.
In light of the question posed by the student, it is accurate to say that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 does impose criminal penalties for corporate governance and accounting lapses, and so the correct answer to the student's question is a. True.