Axena Announces Availability of SOAx Toolkit 4.0 For Total Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Relief.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Meets Auditing Standard No. 2 Requirements; Streamlines Corporate Compliance and Provides Even Greater Business Transparency and Reporting Capabilities

Axena(TM) Inc., a business governance solutions company, today announced the availability of its SOAx(TM) Toolkit 4.0, the newest version of the company's proven Sarbanes-Oxley compliance solution. SOAx Toolkit 4.0 streamlines corporate compliance processes and provides even greater transparency and reporting capabilities to support improved business performance. Today, Axena's SOAx Toolkit serves users worldwide across a wide range of industries. Axena's clients include Fortune 100 companies, as well as state and federal government agencies.

Axena's SOAx Toolkit is a Web-based application that allows corporations to address the particular requirements of Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which creates new responsibilities for both corporate management and external auditors in reporting on internal controls. SOAx Toolkit 4.0 meets all the reporting criteria outlined by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) Auditing Standard No. 2, which was recently released and approved by the SEC.

Axena has enhanced its development and support capabilities through the strength of ICICI Infotech(TM), a SEI (software engineering institute) CMM (capability maturity model) Level 5 certified software solutions company, with customers across 30 countries in 5 continents.

Based on the COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations) framework, and influenced by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), the IIA (Institute of Internal Auditors) and the SEC, Axena's SOAx Toolkit incorporates all the right elements for organizations to have a comprehensive and continuous snapshot of their controls environment.

"Companies are overwhelmed with the daunting task of successfully complying with Sarbanes-Oxley and its evolving regulatory requirements," said Frank Hailstones, CEO of Axena. "Our SOAx Toolkit was built from the ground up to help demystify these requirements and simplify the compliance process. With a single focus on helping companies gain Sections 404 and 302 compliance, we are continually enhancing our solution to meet new regulatory requirements. SOAx Toolkit 4.0 not only meets the new PCAOB auditing standards, but allows companies to go beyond just compliance and begin to address actually improving the performance of their business."

Key new features in SOAx 4.0 include:

Configurable Sarbanes-Oxley Role Definition - SOAx 4.0 allows system administrators to build roles and assign accounts at different access/rights levels (i.e., read only) according to specific company needs. This new enhancement allows internal auditors, external auditors, and management teams to have access to all or just parts of the system, according to company requirements.

Full-featured Reporting - A new reporting engine allows for access to more back-end data, allowing users to report on control status by location, process and financial reporting element. With this new feature, users can immediately determine where a control has failed and in what location.

Upgraded Process Documentation & Mapping Engine - SOAx Toolkit 4.0 links risks to controls within a sub-process. By associating risks at a more detailed level around controls, companies can store risks proforma along side the controls allowing for better testing and reporting across risks and across controls. SOAx Toolkit 4.0 is the only solution today that links risks to controls at both the significant account level and detailed control level.

Advanced Location Sign-off - Advanced location sign-off allows for more discussion between testers, location sign-off and corporate sign-off personnel. SOAx Toolkit 4.0 adds more controls to a test that are traceable within the system. Advanced location sign-off provides transparency into decisions that were made prior to sign-off, preventing collusion or fraud at the location level.

Multi-Language Ready - Axena has started internationalizing its SOAx Toolkit for multiple language support. SOAx Toolkit 4.0 is fully configured to support both Spanish and English languages. Additional languages will be supported as client needs arise.

A total Sarbanes-Oxley solution, Axena's SOAx Toolkit is a 'single-box' solution that is scalable to support geographically dispersed organizations and designed to meet changing regulatory and organizational requirements. The SOAx Toolkit includes an SOA initiation project plan, a process manual, and an extensive knowledge base, which includes a unique detailed, customized library of business process risks and controls. The SOAx Toolkit is a platform that enables the compliance process to be easily repeated in future periods. The SOAx Toolkit shortens time-to-compliance with a simple and easy to use step-by-step process that ensures complete compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley 302 and 404.

About Axena Inc

Axena is a business governance solutions company, providing proven Sarbanes-Oxley compliance-enabling software and a wide range of products, strengthened by its expert advisory services.

Built by practitioners for practitioners, the company's portfolio of Web-based solutions include SOAx(TM)Toolkit, a total Sarbanes-Oxley compliance solution to help companies meet Sarbanes-Oxley 302 and 404 requirements; and Axenaware(TM), a collaborative decision-support application used in concert with Axena's industry-expert advisory services for enterprise risk management and internal auditing functions and compliance.

Axena provides its best practices technology and industry expert consulting services to companies in diverse markets, including Tupperware, Visteon, NDC Health, Crown Cork & Seal, Perini, L&G America and Digital Net. For more information, visit http://www.axena.com.