ANSR Hackett Grp., Inc.(The) (MM)

Businesses that have been agitating for less stringent oversight of financial compliance regulations will get a first taste of relief in the next two weeks, when the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board unveil a plan for streamlining the day-to-day workings of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. According to Hackett Chief Research Officer Richard T. Roth, both regulators and corporate executives are to blame for the complexity of Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance. Hackett's research found that the current average cost of compliance at 0.25% of a company's revenue. Leading operations, which have less complex internal controls, spend even less�about 0.14% of revenue, including direct compliance costs and outside auditing fees. Click Here to Link to Full Text of Article Or visit the following URL: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2006/ db20061205_761982_page_2.htm (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.) For more information on the Hackett research described in this press coverage, visit: www.thehackettgroup.com/news/ For more press coverage of Hackett�s research and insights in leading business and trade publications, visit: http://www.thehackettgroup.com/press/ About The Hackett Group The Hackett Group (www.TheHackettGroup.com), a strategic advisory firm and an Answerthink company (NASDAQ: ANSR), is a global leader in best practice research, benchmarking and business transformation services that enable world-class performance across selling, general & administrative (SG&A) and supply chain activities. Hackett provides strategic insight, best practice advice and implementation services grounded in performance metrics obtained through 14 years and 3,500 benchmark studies. Through the acquisition of REL Consultancy Group, the world�s largest firm dedicated to generating cash improvement from working capital and operations, The Hackett Group has deepened its advisory capabilities in the area of working capital optimization. For more than 30 years, Hackett-REL Total Working Capital advisors have helped clients in over 60 countries liberate billions of dollars in working capital ($25 billion in the last ten years alone), creating the financial freedom to fund their strategic objectives including acquisitions, product development, debt reduction and share buy-back programs. Executives use Hackett�s unique, empirically-based approach to prioritize initiatives, execute faster, reduce risk and deliver sustainable results. Our clients comprise 97 percent of the Dow Jones Industrials, 77 percent of the Fortune 100 and 50 percent of the FTSE 100.