``Culture'' Emerges as Key Barrier to Improving Business Performance Management, According to OutlookSoft Survey of Business Executives.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2002

Companies Face Inevitable Changes in Response to Heightened Regulatory

Scrutiny and Calls for Greater Information Transparency 

OutlookSoft Corp., a creator of a unified business performance management (BPM) solution for consolidation, reporting, planning and analysis, today announced the results of a recent financial executive survey conducted of leading U.S. businesses.

According to the survey, 56 percent of the 273 respondents ranked "planning culture" as the most important issue to address to improve their performance management capabilities. The survey indicates that the current performance management culture typically includes a lengthy hierarchical budgeting process that does not adequately provide essential information to business managers companywide.

In the wake of recent high-profile bankruptcies, shareholders and the SEC are calling for increased corporate transparency to both internal and external audiences. As a result, corporations are embracing a broader sharing of information across the company for increased accountability and timely reporting. The extent of this challenge is illustrated by multiple survey findings:

-- 67 percent of line managers do not have full access to real-time data,
indicating an uphill battle in creating greater information transparency
throughout and beyond the corporation.

-- 48 percent of the respondents reported that it takes six or more days to
complete their monthly close, making timely reporting of data across the
organization difficult.

-- 68 percent use a spreadsheet to track information, making the effective
collection and prompt reporting of company data a challenge.

In addition, with the recent high-profile events, shareholders and the SEC have raised their expectations for increased executive accountability. However, 67 percent of the managers surveyed expressed a need for better, real-time information to effectively manage their performance. Given this fact, corporations will increasingly be challenged to change the nature of corporate accountability and to deploy the means to achieve more effective planning and performance management processes for managers throughout the organization.

"Companies are evaluating their planning and performance management process to ensure their ability to compete and succeed in the changing business environment," said Mike Morini, COO of OutlookSoft. "The survey results are telling indicators of the challenges that companies face in changing the way they manage their business and, as important, the way they think about their business."

OutlookSoft EAP is a Web-based, unified BPM solution that enables every person across the extended organization to better understand their company's performance, financial and beyond, to plan more intelligently and execute those plans more effectively -- all from a single BPM application. Using OutlookSoft EAP, every manager can create and communicate strategic objectives, construct plans that support strategies, and manage their performance to best achieve the objectives of their business units and the entire company.

About the Survey

The survey, commissioned by OutlookSoft and conducted by Business Finance, was a targeted e-mail survey conducted in three "waves." Two hundred and seventy-three financial executives ranging from CFOs to department managers responded. The respondents came from the manufacturing, business services, retail and financial services industries with annual revenue ranging from more than $1 billion to less than $100 million. A report on the full results, including a break down of sector and company size, can be found at http://www.businessfinancemag.com/research/IPMDB/register.cfm.

About OutlookSoft Corporation

OutlookSoft Corporation is a leading provider of business performance management software that enables companies to plan, understand and leverage their performance -- financial and beyond -- from a single, unified application. The company's Web-based solution, EAP, delivers consolidation, planning, reporting, analysis, and knowledge and process management to every manager across the extended enterprise. In the past year, the Company was recognized by industry publications and authorities -- most recently, by Computerworld as a Top 100 Emerging Company for 2002; by Intelligent Enterprise as one of 48 Companies to Watch; and by DM Review to the 100 List for 2001.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, OutlookSoft is financed by Pequot Ventures, GE Equity, ML Taurus, and Merrill Lynch Ventures. OutlookSoft also provides consulting, training, implementation, and ongoing product/client support services. Visit www.outlooksoft.com for more information.