Roger Maris' 1961 home-run record was marked with an asterisk in the record books, a salvo to Babe Ruth fans indignant that Maris had surpassed the Bronx Bomber's record in a longer season.

A similar asterisk has been attached to PRWeek's agency rankings, included in this issue's Agency Business Report, since 2003, when the holding company firms first declined to participate in the process.

The reason cited then, and reiterated since, is Sarbanes-Oxley - though it is only an interpretation of ...