Location
Scott's Seafood Grill & Bar
3300 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa


Agenda
7:30-8:00 AM Networking & Continental Breakfast
8:00-9:30 AM Presentation

Cost
Members $20
Non-members $40

Or Call (310) 325-4000

Corporate Presenting Sponsor

Valuing a software company is as much art as it is science, yet critically important for correctly negotiating many business transactions.

As a technology leader can you answer YES to these six questions?

1. Do you know how to make your company look good to potential buyers?

2. Do you know what to look for in a potential acquisition target?

3. Do you know how to identify potential buyers?

4. Do you know what buyers are looking for now?

5. Do you know when is the right time in the company life cycle to acquire or be acquired?

6. Do you know how the mergers and acquisitions process works today?

If you said no to any of the above, register today for the upcoming Software SIG - Valuing Software Companies breakfast meeting being held Thursday, September 30, 2004.

This event will feature a panel of experts and software executives, (see speaker bios below), who will explain what is currently happening in the marketplace, how to understand your company's value drivers as well as a potential buyer's perspective and help you understand what drives a deal in today's market. The goal is to give you an overview of the rationale and tools you'll need to estimate your company's value in the current environment.

Panelists:

• Ken Bender, Managing Director of Software Equity Group, LLC
• Raymond Rath, Senior Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC
• James R. Eckstaedt, Executive Vice President & CFO, Best Software, Inc.

Moderator:

• Anne Marie Vitale, Assurance Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC

About the Panel

Ken Bender, Managing Director of Software Equity Group, L.L.C., one of the nation's most respected software industry M&A advisories and investment banks. Founded in 1992, SEG has advised more than 500 privately-held and public software companies throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Pacific Asia and Israel.

Ken is frequently quoted in the Daily Deal, Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine, Reuters and USA Today, and is a Contributing Editor to industry newsletters Software Success, Software Business, SoftwareCEO, the Sterling-Hoffman Report and SoftLetter. He has spoken at more than 50 software industry conferences including Software Success, SoftExpo, Software Business Magazine, Culpepper, VAR Magazine and the Software Publisher's Association, as well as the Colorado, Arizona, San Diego, Chicago and Southern California Software Associations, the Tech Coast Angels and the Tech Coast Venture Network. Ken is former Chairman of the Arizona Software Association and winner of the Association's prestigious "Software Industry Leader of the Year" award. He also served from 1998 to 2003 as a Director of the San Diego Software Industry Council.

Raymond Rath, Senior Manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers
Raymond Rath is a Senior Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Transfer Pricing/Valuation Services practice. Mr. Rath specializes in the valuation of business interests and intangible assets for financial reporting, tax, transaction and other purposes. A significant portion of Mr. Rath's efforts currently involve valuation consulting pertaining to financial reporting issues involving SFAS 141 and 142 among others. Mr. Rath has performed and reviewed numerous appraisals involving technology companies. Mr. Rath is an accredited senior appraiser ("ASA") and President of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Society of Appraisers.

James R. Eckstaedt, Executive Vice President & CFO of Best Software, Inc.
James R. Eckstaedt joined the Company in March 1997. He has extensive experience in high-technology mergers and acquisitions. While with Best Software, he has completed over 14 transactions valued in excess of $1.5 billion.

Previously, Mr. Eckstaedt was senior vice president and chief financial officer at The Cerplex Group Inc., a high-technology outsourcing services provider for the computer industry. He also spent 10 years with Western Digital Corporation in a variety of senior management positions, including vice president of finance and corporate treasurer, and served in senior finance and auditing positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Petrolane, Inc. and Tomy Corporation. Mr. Eckstaedt is a Certified Public Accountant and has a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Valparaiso University in Indiana. Mr. Eckstaedt currently serves on the advisor council for Valparaiso's Business School.