Approva Introduces BizRights 2.0 Software to Facilitate More Secure, Effective Business Controls and Processes.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2004

First Enterprise Controls Management Solution for SAP(R) R/3(R), 2.0 Release Also Incorporates Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Pack

Approva(R) Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise controls management software for ERP business processes, today announced the release of BizRights for Controls Monitoring, version 2.0. BizRights for Controls Monitoring is the foundation of Approva's enterprise controls management family of products. It allows Global 2000 corporations with SAP R/3 to manage business risk cost-effectively, and ensures regulatory compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The newest version of BizRights(TM) expands its functionality to include simulation analysis for proactive risk management, pre-defined approval templates and documentation of changes to internal controls. These enhancements enable BizRights users to continuously identify, document, test, manage and monitor internal controls throughout their organizations. As a result, BizRights helps customers achieve ongoing Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, smoother ERP upgrades, rollouts and consolidations and greater business process efficiency.

"Approva BizRights for Controls Monitoring is an important part of McCormick's strategy for maintaining strong internal controls in our growing ERP environment. BizRights facilitates collaboration between the business, IT and internal audit to continuously monitor for internal control issues," said Brian Welsh, Financial Master Data and Internal Control Manager for McCormick & Company, a global leader in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of spices, herbs, seasonings and other flavors to the entire food industry.

"Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance calls for a plan that looks beyond Section 404 attestation to the bigger picture of continuous improvement in the compliance process," said John Hagerty in the AMR Research Report, December 18, 2003. "A culture of continuous improvement is the catalyst that propels companies into a leadership position."

Enhancements to the newest release of BizRights include:

-- Simulation Analysis: Auditors and business managers receive

proactive and continuous visibility into the ERP authorization 

process and can view the impact of a proposed authorization or

approval change to determine if this change will result in

inappropriate access or separation/segregation of duties

(SoD). This feature allows auditors and managers to choose a

different course of action or institute mitigating or

compensating controls as needed.

-- Approval Templates for Streamlined Workflow: Requests for

authorization changes are routed to a series of approval

managers via pre-defined approval templates. Customizable and

extensible templates enable IT and business managers to

collaborate in developing, implementing and monitoring a more

efficient approval process - enhancing risk management and

effective management of business controls.

-- Document and Eliminate False Positives: Companies can

simultaneously reduce the number of false-positives and

mitigate risk by allowing users to specify compensating

controls for approved violations, such as extra authorizations

for remote employees. In addition, exclusion capabilities

enable managers to report on violations without including the

known and documented exception cases, enabling smoother

internal controls audits.

BizRights is the first and only enterprise software solution for continuous controls monitoring that has achieved certified integration with SAP R/3 version 4.7. BizRights 2.0 builds on the existing BizRights business-friendly solution for business process and controls monitoring. Key features included the automatic translation of SAP acronyms into easy-to-understand and easy-to-use terms, thereby significantly improving business users' ability to manage business risk and internal controls. Version 2.0 also leverages the Business Controls Workbench, enabling centralized change and management of business monitoring rules.

"The new functionality included in the BizRights 2.0 release is further evidence of Approva's commitment to user-friendly business solutions for enterprise controls management," said PV Boccasam, Approva president and CEO. "By actively encouraging inclusion and collaboration across key players, such as internal audit, finance management and IT security, in the business controls approval process, companies can now increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their business processes."

In addition to the new version, Approva is also announcing the first in a new series of BizRights compliance packs. BizRights compliance packs provide rules, reports, compensating controls and other business content designed to accelerate and manage compliance with various government and industry regulations. The first compliance pack addresses the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and provides a rich library of business content to help companies cost-effectively achieve and maintain Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. The Compliance Pack for Sarbanes-Oxley is available immediately, and is delivered in conjunction with BizRights 2.0. Additional compliance packs for other government and industry-specific regulations will be announced in the future.

About Approva Corporation

Approva Corporation provides enterprise controls management software for ERP business processes. Continuous monitoring has become increasingly critical as companies consolidate their ERP instances, upgrade to new versions and roll out ERP to more users. Complying with government regulations, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, amplifies the need for companies to increase the frequency, accuracy and depth of their audit process. In contrast to existing snapshot-in-time tools or manual solutions, Approva BizRights(TM) product suite is an integrated monitoring business application that is continuous, business-friendly and proactive. Its business user-oriented solutions help financial executives, business managers, application security and auditors continuously identify, document, test, manage and monitor business controls, resulting in greater visibility into business risk, improved compliance and increased efficiency. For more information visit www.approva.net.

Approva, the Approva logo and all other Approva software product and service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of Approva Corporation. SAP, R/3 and all other SAP product and service names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and several other countries. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.