e-Onehundred Group Praises SEC Decision to Extend Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Deadline; Additional Time Allows Companies To Achieve a Lower-Cost, Enterprise Approach to Sustainable Compliance.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SOUTHINGTON, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 26, 2004

e-Onehundred Group, LLC, the original creator of enterprise compliance management solutions, endorses the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) decision to extend the Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance deadline to November 15, 2004.

The date was extended from June 15th and affects U.S. companies with a market cap over $75 million. Although the SEC gave no rationale for the date change, the postponement came after concerns from public companies and auditors about the ability to meet the SEC date and the excessive costs associated with its adoption.

e-Onehundred Group COO, Doreen Ambert said she was "very pleased" by the decision.

Achieving Sustainable Compliance

"This is the opportunity to do it right," said Ambert. "One of the results of the urgent march to compliance, was that companies were not addressing a long-term solution. Because of time constraints, many companies were caught between a rock and a hard place. Their choices were limited. They were forced to use little more than desktop tools to manually pull it all together. This approach significantly increased auditing/compliance expenses just to meet the first deadline. Now companies have the opportunity to implement an enterprise approach and tools that will support real-time compliance, attestation, internal and external auditing, enterprise risk management and reporting in perpetuity. The result is less manual effort and lower cost for both initial and continued compliance."

Individual companies have already spent millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours complying with one main statute, Section 404, related to internal controls. The price tag for full compliance (including mandated CEO and CFO certifications of quarterly financial statements) will be even higher if "documenting" and "papering" of internal controls continues in the same fashion. "Postponement of the compliance date by the SEC gives organizations a chance to do it better," said Neil Jackson, a 37-year leader in the audit industry, and a recognized Audit and Sarbanes-Oxley Act expert. Jackson, Director of Implementation, Audit and Controls for e-Onehundred Group, said his clients will be able to have a "win-win situation by making their efforts an asset and not an expense." Jackson stated: "The excessive costs now associated with adoption must be responded to with a more cost-effective solution. The additional time to meet the deadline allows organizations to re-assess their approach and use better tools to ensure integrity and value to the organization. Using the right tools will provide a depreciated, reusable asset in software solutions vs. incremental, indiscriminant spending."

About e-Onehundred Group

e-Onehundred Group's SOA Director(TM) is the first and only true real-time enterprise compliance solution with a Sarbanes-Oxley methodology and professional audit and control standards built into the product. Through SOA Director(TM), customers see their return on investment immediately and can expect a full capital and expense return in as little as 6 months to 1 year. Additionally, SOA Director(TM) does not stop at SOA compliance. For financial institutions SOA Director's approach integrates independent compliance assurance capabilities for FDICIA and Basel II Capital Accords operational risk attestation requirements. SOA Director(TM) also provides management of internal and external audit issues and government auditor findings and remediation. SOA Director(TM) is designed by experienced compliance, audit, risk, and IT experts to be the most efficient and reliable long-term complete corporate solution. It is the only product available that provides real-time, distributable and auditable results for sections 404 and 409 compliance.

Founded in 1997, e-Onehundred Group is a privately held company, serving customers worldwide. e-Onehundred Group, LLC is headquartered in Southington, Connecticut.

If you would like more information visit http://www.soadirector.com/ or enroll in our webinar series by calling Alice Zeeman at 860/628-9443 ext. 106.