CCBN's Corporate Governance Module and Governance Hotline Helps Companies Increase Transparency, Communicate with Investors.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 2003

The Number of Firms Using the Web to Meet Disclosure Requirements Continues to Grow

In the wake of numerous accounting and financial scandals, and the resulting decline in investor confidence, corporate governance policies and procedures have come under heightened investor scrutiny. In early 2003, CCBN (www.ccbn.com), a leader in Internet-based corporate communications services, created a corporate governance solution, based on best practices from the industry, to help companies increase transparency and make their information readily accessible to investors.

A growing number of companies have taken steps to improve communication of corporate policies and infrastructure with the launch of corporate governance sections of their Web sites, using CCBN's Corporate Governance Module. CCBN's Corporate Governance Module and Governance Hotline helps companies comply with the disclosure requirement of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and enables employees to provide anonymous, secure feedback to their company.

"We were looking for a way to highlight the governance information that is most important to TASER International and to our investors as an easy-to-navigate part of our Web site," said Phillips W. Smith, Chairman of the Board at TASER International, Inc. "CCBN's Corporate Governance Module helps us present the most clear, concise message in the most transparent manner possible while enabling us to get our unique governance story directly to investors. Using the Web has been an ideal way to meet disclosure requirements and allow us to distribute corporate information in a timely, consistent manner."

Recent clients to go live with the CCBN Corporate Governance Module include:

-- 3M Company (NYSE: MMM)

-- Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE: AKR)

-- Allied Waste (NYSE: AW)

-- Allstate Corp. (NYSE: ALL)

-- Applied Micro Circuits Corp. (NASDAQ: AMCC)

-- Applix Inc. (NASDAQ: APLX)

-- ArQule, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARQL)

-- AutoNation (NYSE: AN)

-- Axis Capital Holdings Limited (NYSE: AXS)

-- Barr Laboratories (NYSE: BRL)

-- Borland Software Corporation (NASDAQ: BORL)

-- Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTIC)

-- Chicago Mercantile Exchange (NYSE: CME)

-- Delphi (NYSE: DPH)

-- Digital Theater Systems (NASDAQ: DTSI)

-- East West Bancorp (NASDAQ: EWBC)

-- Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: GPRO)

-- Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL)

-- Hollywood Entertainment (NASDAQ: HLYW)

-- K2 Inc. (NYSE: KTO)

-- Lightbridge (NASDAQ: LTBG)

-- Maine & Maritimes Corporation (AMEX: MAM)

-- Office Depot (NYSE: ODP)

-- Oxford Health Plans (NYSE: OHP)

-- Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE: PDX)

-- Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM)

-- Parametric Technology (NASDAQ: PMTC)

-- Parker Hannifin (NYSE: PH)

-- PartnerRe (NYSE: PRE)

-- Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL)

-- PRG-Schultz (NASDAQ: PRGX)

-- Rent-a-Center (NASDAQ: RCII)

-- Respironics Inc. (NASDAQ: RESP)

-- SBS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBSE)

-- Secure Computing (NASDAQ: SCUR)

-- Serena Software, Inc (NASDAQ: SRNA)

-- TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR)

-- TEREX (NYSE: TEX)

-- Thornburg Mortgage (NYSE: TMA)

-- Trammell Crow Company (NYSE: TCC)

-- Vineyard National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VNBC)

-- VISX (NYSE: EYE)

-- WellChoice, Inc. (NYSE: WC)

-- Wells-Gardner Electronics Corporation (AMEX: WGA)

-- Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX)

Recent CCBN Governance Hotline clients include:

-- Altiris Inc. (NASDAQ: ATRS)

-- Aspen Technology (NASDAQ: AZPN)

-- Bradley Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE: BDY)

-- Crown American Realty Trust (NYSE: CWN)

-- Digital Theater Systems (NASDAQ: DTSI)

-- Dress Barn (NASDAQ: DBRN)

-- Dyax Corporation (NASDAQ: DYAX)

-- K2, Inc. (NYSE: KTO)

-- Microtune Inc. (NASDAQ: TUNEE)

-- NUI Corporation (NYSE: NUI)

-- Toro (NYSE: TTC)

CCBN's Corporate Governance Module enables companies to post a wide range of information including: board composition; director and officer ownership; insider ownership and transactions; committee structure; governance guidelines; and codes of conduct. In addition, the Corporate Governance Module offers governance hotlines directed to audit committees and investor e-mail alerts. Section 301 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires audit committees to establish procedures for receipt of complaints by employees and the confidential submission of these complaints. CCBN's Governance Hotline can record these submissions and e-mail the audio to a designated member of the audit committee.

"Nothing gets more personal than the composition of a company's management and board of directors, but given the level of cynicism in the marketplace today, we should be taking extra steps to make sure the investment community has easy access to all relevant information," said Jane McCahon, consultant at Conway Communications and former chairperson of NIRI. "Companies that proactively disclose such information will be rewarded in the long term; those that don't - or worse, attempt to bury corporate governance information - will be at a disadvantage in the marketplace."

About CCBN

CCBN (Corporate Communications Broadcast Network) is an entrepreneurial success story in the rapidly growing industry of Internet-based corporate communications. Today, CCBN is a leading provider of Web-based solutions for the investment community, offering services that transform the way companies communicate and meet disclosure requirements while assisting investors in managing and leveraging this information. CCBN's investor relations Web site hosting, webcasting, and disclosure services are utilized by corporate communications professionals at over 3,000 companies to deliver critical information via interactive and multi-media solutions. CCBN's StreetEvents service offers institutional and individual investors a one-stop solution for managing corporate disclosure information by aggregating conference calls, webcasts, transcripts, call summaries, and other financial information into a time-saving, efficiency tool subscribed to by over 15,000 Wall Street professionals. Headquartered in Boston, MA, CCBN has additional offices in San Francisco and London. For more information, please visit www.ccbn.com.