04/07/2004

HandySoft Global Corporation, a provider of business process management (BPM) solutions, and Enterprise Web company Plumtree Software (Nasdaq: PLUM) unwrapped version 2.0 of the SOXA Accelerator. They say this solution “adds new and enhanced compliance functionality to the SOXA Accelerator, released in June of 2003, which has a growing roster of Global 500 customers.”

The companies gave the following details:

The enhanced version demonstrates HandySoft’s commitment to helping public companies address the many challenges they face as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. SOXA Accelerator 2.0 now provides updated reporting capabilities for improved control and administration and enhanced support for Sarbanes-Oxley Sections 302 and 404. Section 302 requires CEOs and CFOs of public companies to personally certify their company’s financial results quarterly and annually. Section 404 requires that public companies report annually on the effectiveness of their reporting process and internal controls, and requires that external auditors attest to the company’s conclusions.

According to a December 2003 Outlook by AMR Research, “Money will need to be earmarked to pay external staff, with technology expenditures exceeding $1B in total… Where more than half of companies originally viewed Section 404 requirements as involving only financial processes, now 79% consider that compliance mandates must include finance, operations, and IT processes.”

In an October 2003 AMR Research report, analyst Eric Austvold stated: "BPM will become a cornerstone of long-term active compliance by putting a ceiling on the rising costs of compliance through the automation of manual audit tasks, rules-based enforcement of policies, and as a common platform that coordinates Sarbanes-Oxley related activities." (BPM Software is a Cornerstone of Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance)

“Our customers have been telling us that they need help in the areas of financial process control, tracking and enforcement, so the SOXA Accelerator 2.0 makes it even easier for companies to compile, monitor and view reports of important financial data critical to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance,” says Daryn Walters, vice president of worldwide marketing and strategy for HandySoft. “More importantly, companies are realizing that they can leverage the benefits of process design, control and enforcement beyond corporate governance and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance to institutionalize best practices, save time and money, and improve the way they do business.”

“The first version of the SOXA Accelerator was well received because it was a comprehensive application that combined BizFlow's BPM capabilities with our suite’s collaboration, content management, search and personalization. The SOXA Accelerator 2.0 adds compliance dashboards and incorporates Sarbanes-Oxley frameworks from the major audit firms,” said Plumtree CFO Eric Borrmann. “HandySoft was one of the first application partners in our Applications Incubator program, and continues to be a leading adopter.”

Expanded Capabilities of the SOXA Accelerator 2.0: • New Section 302/404 Rollup and Certification Enforcement: Workflow and forms completed by each business unit’s managers or executives on a quarterly or annual basis help a company determine if any material changes which would impact the company’s financial metrics have taken place. • Enhanced Visibility and Reporting of Financial Data: New enhanced dashboard provides a graphical, high-level view of key performance indicators and pre-configured reports concerning the financial controls of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. • Even Easier to Use: A more intuitive user interface for administration, searching and filtering helps financial officers of a company to get the information they need quickly, while decreasing their reliance on IT. • Expanded Support for Three Major Accounting Methodologies and Standards: Support for the methodologies for Sarbanes-Oxley used by PricewaterhouseCoopers (COSO), Ernst & Young and Deloitte Touche.

SOXA Accelerator 2.0 is offered as a stand-alone solution or as an add-on to existing HandySoft or Plumtree products.