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January 2006

North American Region

Letter from the Chair

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Dear Colleagues,

As the new chairman of AGN International-North America, Inc. (AGN-NA) in
2006, I anticipate an active and challenging year:

completion of a new strategic plan for our region
year two of our Advanced Partner Training Program
the spring North American regional meeting in Philadelphia

hosting the World Congress in Montreal, Canada
efforts to respond to member needs in staff recruitment/retention and succession planning; and more.

AGN-NA is now a regional association of 52 firms with the addition
of Stegman & Company, a $4.5 million firm located in
Baltimore, Maryland.

Our North American make up includes firms from Canada (6), Mexico (1), Puerto Rico (1) and the US (44). Based on our members' expectations, we are not done growing. We will continue to seek out strong and innovative members that expand our geographic coverage and reinforce or expand key niche practice areas.

I have just returned from AGN-NA's meeting at Chicago's O'Hare airport where 52 managing partners and leaders of audit, tax, marketing and IT sharegroups met to hammer out an updated strategic plan for the North American region.

Glenn Tecker, one of the leading experts in association management and governance, led us through a one-and-a-half day process with his unique brand of intellectual energy and humor. He reminded us that our goal was
not to draft a fixed strategic plan but to set in motion an ongoing process of strategic thinking.

With that in mind, our agenda included:

	review of a pre-meeting survey (60 respondents)
	affirmation of our core purpose and values
	assessing our current environment, business trends, and assumptions about the future
	creating a first draft of AGN-NA goals and strategies for achieving them.

The AGN-NA executive committee will review these draft goals and strategies at its January meeting and expects to present a draft of the region's current strategic thinking for Board review/approval at our May meeting in
Philadelphia.

I look forward to serving as AGN-NA's chairman this coming year and one of Glenn Tecker's comments reminded me why. He remarked that what struck him most strongly about the group in Chicago was how much we enjoyed working and being together.

The quality of the relationships I have formed with other AGN members is clearly what makes our organization both successful and special for me.

Finally, I want to recognize AGN-NA's executive committee (Neil O'Connor, Ben Doerr, Sandy Beckman, Jennings Hastings) and particularly our past chairman, Ben Doerr, for their never flagging dedication and effort throughout 2005.

Now on to 2006.

Larry Kuechler, CPA
Berger/Lewis Accountancy Corporation
San Jose, CA
lkuechler@bergerlewis.com

New Officers

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The AGN-NA Board of Directors elected Larry Kuechler (pronounced "keykler") as its Chairman at the meeting held November 3, 2005.

Also elected to AGN-NA's 2006 Executive Committee are the following:
Sandy Beckman, Vice Chair and Chair-Elect (Weinstein, Spira & Company, Houston, TX);
Jennings Hastings, Treasurer (Managing Partner, Faw, Casson & Co., LLP, Dover, DE);
Charlie McGimsey, Secretary (Managing Partner, Windham, Brannon & Co, Atlanta, GA) and,
Ben Doerr, Immediate Past Chair (Managing partner, James Moore & Co., Gainesville, FL).

North Americans Engage in Strategic Planning
November 3-4 in Chicago

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Fifty-two AGN-NA members gathered at Chicago's Westin O'Hare for two intense days of strategic planning for the organization and its 52 member firms.

Glenn Tecker, internationally-known association guru (standing in both photos), facilitated the session, which included re-affirmation of AGN-NA's core purpose and values and identification of a "Big Hairy Audacious Goal".
Participants included Board members, AGN-NA Sharegroup Core Team Leaders and three AGN-NA staff members. After participants discerned four main draft objectives, participants self-selected into work groups to determine the key elements of each draft objective.

Next steps: all Board members and Core Team Leaders are reviewing the draft objectives' and strategic planning wording, with a goal of finalizing the objectives' wording before moving into indentification/selection of tactics
to achieve the objectives.

Participants rated strategic planning facilitator Glenn Tecker very highly for his ability to focus and engage AGN Board members, Core Team Leaders and AGN staff on the current environment as well as what the future may hold for the member firms, their clients, the profession and for AGN-NA. TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE: How many of your colleagues' faces can you recognize and name in the photos at right and below. (answers below)

Faces Quiz answers - Top photo: (l. to r.) Gail Chambers, Windham Brannon, P.C., CPAs (IT Core Team Leader); Sonny Evers, Evers & Company; Louis Ruta, Bessner Gallay Kreisman; Mike Oates (representing Steve Kass, Rothstein Kass & Company); (Tecker); Frank Lanigan, Lanigan, Ryan, Malcolm& Doyle P.C. Bottom photo (l. to r. foreground): Les Nettleton, Bourgeois Bennett CPAs (IT Core Team Leader); Rita Hood; Warren Barnes, Kernutt Stokes Brandt & Co, LLP; Peter Carroll, Allen & Miles; Mike Palazzolla, Derderian, Kann, Seyferth & Salucci (BV Core Team Leader); background (table at right) Sy Bressler, Bederson & Company, LLP; Don Bellantoni (back to camera), Koch Reiss & Company, P.A.; Bill Troup, Sisterson & Co.; Sandy Beckman, Weinstein Spira & Co.; Dave DeJoy, DeJoy, Knauf & Blood, LLP; and Suzanne Jacobs, Block Plant Eisner (A&A Core Team Leader); Far left in the back: Jim Carulas, Meaden & Moore, Ltd.; Greg Osborn, Saltzman, Hamma, Nelson & Massaro.

Draft Goals and Objectives
Reputation & Recognition:
AGN-NA firms will be recognized as quality providers offering the industry's best resources and solutions.

Human Resources:
AGN-NA firms will attract, develop and retain the highest quality staff.

Knowledge Transfer:
AGN-NA firms will have access to a high quality, comprehensive and dynamic resource of relevant information, knowledge and insight.

And, last, but certainly not least:
Profitability:
AGN-NA firms will be in the top quartile of profitability within their peer groups.

North America Welcomes New Staff Member

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Loni Hale joined the North American headquarters staff as Office Manager/Meeting Planner, and is the first voice you¹ll hear when you call the office!

Loni brings a wealth of experience to the NA headquarters in human resources, project management and meeting planning. She holds a degree in Project Management.

Her new duties include keeping the NA headquarters office running smoothly and efficiently by assisting staff members, as well as meeting planning, member surveys, client newsletters, managing member discount programs and bookkeeping functions. Her email address is lhale@agn.org.

AGN-NA Sharegroup Teleconference Schedule

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[note: information also exists, by month, at www.agn-na.org > Programs & Events > Events Calendar; check there for updates on times, dates and discussion topics]

JANUARY
5	Human Resources/Firm Administration Sharegroup Core Team Leaders Teleconference Time: 3 pm ET / 2 pm CT / 1 pm MT / 12 noon PT
9	Pension Plan Audit Sharegroup Teleconference Time: 12 noon ET / 11 am CT / 10 am MT / 9 am PT Topic: Update from the December DOL Conference
9	Audit & Accounting Sharegroup Teleconference *Time:* 1 pm ET / 12 noon CT / 11 am MT / 10 am PT Topic: Ethics Update
10	Not-For-Profit Sharegroup Core Team Leaders Teleconference Time: 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT / 2 pm MT /1 pm PT
12	Audit & Accounting Sharegroup Core Team LeadersTeleconference Time: 1 pm ET / 12 noon CT / 11 am MT / 10 am PT
12	Mergers & Acquisitions Steering Group Teleconference Time: 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT / 2 pm MT / 1 pm PT
12	Canadian Practice Management Sharegroup Teleconference Time: 11:30 am ET / 10:30 am CT / 9:30 am MT / 8:30 am PT
24	Tax Sharegroup Core Team Leaders Teleconference Time: 3 pm ET / 2 pm CT / 1 pm MT / 12 noon PT

FEBRUARY
7	Marketing Sharegroup Core Team Leaders Teleconference Time: 3 pm ET / 2 pm CT / 1 pm MT / 12 noon PT
7	Not-For-Profit Sharegroup Teleconference Time: 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT / 2 pm MT / 1 pm PT
17	Business Valuations Sharegroup Core Team Leaders Teleconference Time: 3 pm ET / 2 pm CT / 1 pm MT / 12 noon PT
21	Tax Sharegroup Teleconference Time: 3 pm ET / 2 pm CT / 1 pm MT / 12 noon PT

MARCH
3	Information Technology Sharegroup Core Team Leaders Teleconference Time: 11 am ET / 10 am CT / 9 am MT / 8 am PT
7	Marketing Sharegroup Core Team Leaders Teleconference Time: 2 pm ET / 1 pm CT / 12 noon MT / 11 am PT
14	Marketing Sharegroup Teleconference Time: 2 pm ET / 1 pm CT / 12 noon MT / 11 am PT
17	Business Valuations Sharegroup Teleconference Time: 3 pm ET / 2 pm CT / 1 pm MT / 12 noon PT
22	Information Technology Sharegroup Teleconference Time: 12 noon ET / 11 am CT / 10 am MT / 9 am PT

New Member Firm

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Baltimore, Maryland
Stegman & Company

Stegman & Company, a 90 year-old firm, becomes AGN's 52nd North American member firm. The 35+ person firm has a significant SEC practice and serves clients in the financial institutions, manufacturing, construction and real estate industries. It is also developing an ERISA practice.

Directors include Harry J. Leonard, who has served as managing director since 1997, James J. Dougherty, Joseph E. Hahn, Thomas R. Moore, Garrett G. Parks, M. Conor Quinn, William R. Ross, William E. Williams, Jr., and Michael D. Ziemba.

Member News

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Bederson & Company LLP, West Orange, NJ, is ranked among the top 11 accounting firms in NJBiz's annual Book of Lists. The firm was also named to the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) list of top accounting firms. In addition, Turnarounds & Workouts magazine named Bederson one of the top regional bankruptcy accounting firms.

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Ralph A. Litolff, Jr. has been awarded the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co., with five offices in Ohio, has named as Shareholder Denice Hertlein in the Cincinnati office. Denice brings with her 28 years of experience working with construction, real estate, hospitality companies, and not-for-profit organizations in Greater Cincinnati.

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Concannon Miller & Co P.C., with two offices in Pennsylvania and Florida, received the Joseph S. Daddona award. This award honors the memory of the former long-time mayor of Allentown, PA. The selection committee chose Concannon Miller for demonstrating a commitment to Allentown, leadership, community service and compassion, as well as following in the spirit and legacy of Joseph S. Daddona.

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Daszkal Bolton LLP opened a 15-person office in Fort Lauderdale on December 1, 2005. Partner Gary R. McConnell manages the Broward office. The firm has two other Florida offices in Boca Raton and North Palm Beach County. The new Fort Lauderdale office is located at 2700 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite D126, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309-1744. The main phone number is (954) 974-3544.

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Edward Knauf, partner in DeJoy, Knauf & Blood, LLP, Rochester, NY, was recently appointed Chair of the AICPA PCPS Technical Issues Committee ("TIC"). The TIC interfaces with standards setters (FASB, ASB, ARSC, GASB, AcSEC, and others), with the objective of presenting to these standards setters the views of local and regional CPA firms and their clients.

Ed has also been named one of 2006 "Top 100 Most Influential Practitioners" as published in Volume 5 No. 1 Tax Season 2006 of CPA Magazine. Ed is specifically listed under the Financial Reporting section on page 30.

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Jack N. Rosenberg, partner in Koch Reiss & Company, P.A. (with two offices in Florida) has been appointed co-chair of the Planned Giving Committee of United Way of Broward County, Florida. Jack is active in the tax aspects of planned giving concepts for high income individuals.

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Meaden & Moore, Ltd., with eleven offices in Ohio, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Florida, elected three individuals to Vice President. Jonathan Ciccotelli joined the firm's tax services group in 2002 and now serves as the Officer in Charge of the firm¹s Wooster, OH office. John Nicklas joined the firm's Cleveland assurance services group in 1994 and is focused on working with privately held companies in a variety of industries. Barry Thoman joined the firm's assurance services group in 1992, relocating to the Akron, OH office in 2003, and has been an integral part of that office's continued growth and success.

M&M Business Solutions, a Meaden & Moore company, and Technology Evaluation Centers, Inc., the first web-native technology research enterprise, have formed an alliance that will provide analyst-vetted software selection assessments to customers seeking IT and ERP functional and technical expertise.

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Catrina M. Payne has been promoted to principal at Nykiel Carlin & Co., Ltd four offices in Illinois and Indiana. She has been with the firm in 1996.

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Rothstein, Kass & Company, P.C. (with nine offices in New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Colorado, Bermuda, and Grand Cayman) announces new principals with the firm. David Ginsberg, Rosalie Mandel, Ralph Natilli, and Jeffrey Somers are all in the Roseland, NJ office. Matthew Anderson, in the Denver office, Vincent Calcagno in the Walnut Creek office, Kristine Stromeyer in the Beverly Hills office, and Mary Wilson in the New York office complete the list of new principals.

Steven Kass, co-managing principal, was named to the Syracuse University Accounting Advisory Council. Additional news announces that the firm has launched a global alumni network that will promote long-term relationships with many past and present firm members.

Also, the firm has been ranked by Alpha magazine as the #1 accounting firm service provider for hedge funds, and ranked #1 in service over the Big Four firms in all categories surveyed: audit fees, regulatory compliance, responsiveness/quality of personnel and tax.

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Carolyn Riticher, principal in Windham Brannon, P.C., CPAs, Atlanta, Georgia, has been elected to a three year term on the AICPA Council. Denise Mummert, principal, has been elected as the 2005-2006 president of the Georgia Society of CPAs.

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NA FIRMS RECOGNIZED IN NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS:

Public Accounting Report (PAR) lists America's Top 100 for 2005. Three AGN-NA firms made the list; Rothstein Kass & Company, P.C. in 20th place, Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co. in 45th place, and Blue & Co., LLC in 85th place. Top 100 firms in A&A revenue rankings include Rothstein Kass in 22nd place, Clark, Schaefer, Hackett in 53rd place, and Blue & Co. in 97th place. These firms also placed in top 100 firms in Tax revenue rankings; 29th, 36th, and 93rd respectively.

Blue & Co. placed 24th and Rothstein Kass placed 78th in top MCS revenue rankings, and in 32nd place for fastest growing firms.

Clark, Schaefer, Hackett placed 20th in top 100 Other revenue rankings and placed in the top 10 in north central regional leaders.

PAR also ranked Rothstein Kass & Company at 27th in net revenues derived from SEC companies and newest member, Stegman & Company at 73rd. Daszkal Bolton is 83rd. Rothstein Kass & Company has 15 SEC registrants; Stegman has 13 and Daszkal Bolton has 11.

All three firms were also listed in Inside Inside Public Accounting's Top 100 in 2005. Rothstein Kass ranked 20th, Clark, Schaefer, Hackett ranked 52nd, and Blue & Co. ranked 84th. Additionally, Rothstein Kass ranked 2nd in the northeast region of non-national firms and 4th in All-Stars 2005, and Blue& Co. ranked 5th in All Stars 2005 highest percent of revenue from nontraditional services.

Also in Inside Public Accounting, Windham Brannon, P.C. CPAs placed in the top 25 2005 Best of the Best. Receiving honorable mention were Clark, Schaefer, Hackett and Rothstein Kass.

The November 15 issue of PAR also highlights the leading community bank auditors. Newest AGN-NA member, Stegman & Co., with its six community banks is ranked in the top 25. Also mentioned is Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.

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