FIDUCIAL SOLIDIFIES FOOTHOLD IN MIDWEST WITH CPA GROUP ACQUISITIONS

As part of its aggressive expansion plan, Fiducial, an international provider of professional business outsourcing services to small businesses and entrepreneurs, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the accounting offices of Indianapolis, IN-based Frontier CPA Group, LLP. Terms of the agreement, effective October 1, 2004 , were not disclosed.

The acquisition adds 10 offices to the growing Fiducial network including seven in the Indiana cities of Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Brookville, Columbus, Muncie, Greenfield and Greenwood, along with offices in Chicago, IL, Cincinnati, OH, and Louisville, KY, and adds over 5,600 small business and individual clients to the organization’s growing client base. As a result of the deal, Frontier is officially changing its name and will be operating under the Fiducial brand.

In a separate transaction, Fiducial signed a stock purchase agreement for Frontier Lending Corporation, Frontier Financial consultants and Diamond Title and Escrow, Inc. Details of the purchase, also effective Oct. 1, 2004 , were not released.

Clearly, Fiducial’s expansion plans are on track to become the number one outsourcing company for small businesses, according to Yves Morard-Lacroix, Fiducial’s Executive Vice President.

“These new offices complement us in terms of having an expanded geographical presence,” said Morard-Lacroix. Having established a solid foundation on both coasts, the head of Fiducial’s U.S. operations noted that the 10 offices offer a consistent presence in the Midwest that will become a “stronghold” for Fiducial.

“The Louisville and Indianapolis markets are now ours,” he said. “And we will continue to acquire offices in this region.” Fiducial’s expansion plans call for establishing 100-150 offices across the U.S. and the company is devoting the resources necessary to accomplish that objective.

Added Bill Morice, Fiducial’s Director of Field Operations, “We’re not finished in the Midwest . We will be announcing additional acquisitions which will be integrated with the Frontier offices.”

In addition to establishing a strong position for Fiducial in Illinois , Ohio , Kentucky and Indiana , the Frontier acquisitions add mortgage and title services to Fiducial’s existing services and product lines.

Frontier’s founder, Troy Patton, CPA, sees the acquisition as a secure fit for both companies, especially from an entrepreneurial perspective.

“I really saw our business model and Fiducial’s model as being more similar than our competition,” said Patton. “I think we have a better mousetrap. The integration of services is extremely important.”

It’s also an opportunity for Fiducial to expand on the ground work that Frontier has started in the Midwest . Growing from a one-person start-up eight years ago to an 80-member staff with 10 offices, Frontier has doubled its revenues en route to becoming recognized as one of the fastest growing CPA firms in the Midwest.

“It was our ambition to grow throughout the U.S. ,” said Patton. “Fiducial will give us the ability to accomplish those goals. We had the chance to accomplish something great with an integrated delivery of Financial Services and to continue to expand on what we’ve done since 1996, and we went for it.”

 About Fiducial
Established in Europe in 1970, Fiducial, under the leadership of its chairman, Christian Latouche, entered the U.S. market in 1999 through a series of strategic acquisitions and now serves clients nationwide through a network of more than 500 company-owned and Franchise offices. A worldwide, multidisciplinary diversified services company with global revenues of more than $1.2 billion, the company is privately held and is the twelfth largest accounting firm in the world and the nineteenth largest in the country. Fiducial’s U.S. headquarters is in New York City and it has a major technical and administrative support center in Columbia, Maryland.