MUMBAI -- U.S. lawmakers passed the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-governance law three years ago amid outrage over a long list of sins, but now it may be exacerbating another perceived business transgression: shipping work overseas.

A growing number of companies are looking to India's information-technology outsourcing firms to cut the cost and time needed to comply with the law, say analysts, consultants and Indian entrepreneurs.

The Sarbanes-Oxley rules require public companies to report on the strength of their internal financial-reporting controls, to better prevent fraud and ensure accuracy of financial filings. More than a year into the gradual implementation of them, companies have been surprised at how costly and complicated compliance can be. Some Indian outsourcing companies say their Sarbanes-Oxley-related business is growing at more than 50 percent a year, aided by costs that in some instances are a third those of the big U.S. accounting firms.

Public companies in the U.S. spent about $5.5 billion last year to comply with the new law, and are likely to spend an additional $5.8 billion this year, according to AMR Research, a technology-research firm in Boston. While most of the spending will go to internal and external auditors at large U.S. accounting firms, more than a quarter of outlays will pay for new technology and systems, analysts say, and it is this slice for which the Indian companies are competing.

While a lack of understanding about what exactly Sarbanes-Oxley requires still makes it difficult to offshore the most complicated steps of compliance, much of the new technology needed for automation and testing can be acquired abroad, says Sanjay Anand, chairman of the Sarbanes-Oxley Group LLC, based in New Jersey, which trains and certifies auditors on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

"In 2004, we saw a lot of business being done on site, but now we are getting into year two and year three and there will be more of the technology components of compliance offshored," he says.

Indian outsourcing firms say they are helping with each step of the compliance process. They design and manage huge databases needed to keep track of the growing number of receipts, approvals and other bits of paper companies now have to store for years. They write the internal audit reports needed to explain how the systems work. They upgrade their clients' systems and test them.

On Tuesday, Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of India's largest outsourcing companies, said Sarbanes-Oxley-related orders contributed to its more than 35 percent profit growth in the quarter ended June 30. "A market leader in commercial air conditioners and hardware has sought Infosys' expertise for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance," the company said in a news release outlining some of the biggest orders for the quarter.

Patni Computer Systems Ltd., another large software and outsourcing company, is helping U.S. clients follow the new rules by building and testing new computer systems that track transactions and approvals, says Bill Benton, the firm's "principal solutions architect." While he wouldn't disclose its revenue from Sarbanes-Oxley-related business, Mr. Benton says it is fast-growing.

ExlService Holdings Inc., an outsourcing specialist with headquarters in New York but with operations centers in India, says it already has 18 large clients that have come to it to solve compliance problems, including companies connected to insurer Allianz AG as well as international-resorts company Sunterra Corp. ExlService estimates that more than 5 percent of its revenue is Sarbanes-Oxley-related. That percentage is likely to grow, says Rohit Kapoor, the company's president. "Doing this kind of risk-advisory service is becoming an integral part of our growth."

To be sure, some Indian software and outsourcing companies say Sarbanes-Oxley compliance hurt their business last year as U.S. companies took longer to decide which parts of their operations they could run abroad while staying in compliance with the new law. "Still, some are embracing outsourcing as a means for their (U.S.) company to comply," says Robert Brown, principal analyst with research company Gartner Inc. in San Francisco.

Analysts and companies say it is difficult to project the overall size of business generated by Sarbanes-Oxley for Indian companies because the compliance projects are often part of broader system upgrades. More work is potentially up for grabs over the next few years, as smaller and finally foreign companies will be required to comply with the law, first in annual reports then in quarterly reports.