News Releases

Hitachi Soft is pleased to announce the launch of SoxBench, a benchmarking service for internal control management that can control documentation and clarify the issues that internal controls face, from July 10, 2006.

In response to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX Act) in America, which tightened controls on corporate governance, Japan passed the Financial Products Exchange Act in June 2006. Listed companies are already starting to work on their internal control management, making improvements and reinforcements, in order to comply with the regulations set forth in the law, which will take effect in April 2008. However, many companies are unsure of how to approach the process, particularly as it involves project planning, pilot model construction and documentation. HitachiSoft has therefore decided to start providing SoxBench, an internal control management benchmarking service, to listed companies that have begun revamping their internal controls.

HitachiSoft supports the optimization of internal control management by comparing the results of improvements made to a company's internal controls (i.e., in the project planning and documentation processes) to its own successful internal control management, which was designed in accordance with America's SOX Act, in order to understand the current management level as well as clarify future challenges that must be overcome. By using products created in each phase of the process as a standard, HitachiSoft will be able to clarify what must be done in the future to improve internal control management.

The SoxBench service recommends optimal benchmarking areas based on how much progress a company has made in tightening internal controls. After an initial interview, different processes are compared, and HitachiSoft produces a report detailing the results.

With various firms making preparations for the Japanese version of the SOX Act, HitachiSoft's SoxBench will encourage the improvement of internal control management through the efficient and effective support for project start-up and documentation.

Price: Internal Control Management Benchmarking Service (SoxBench): 2 million yen Period: One month (minimum)

* The official name of HitachiSoft is Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd.
* SoxBench is a trademark of Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd.

Inquiries:
Takehashi/ Takano
Corporate Communications
Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd.
Tel: 03-5780-6450
Fax: 03-5780-6455
E-mail:press@hitachisoft.jp