MENLO PARK, Calif., April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Protiviti Inc., a leading provider of independent business and technology risk consulting and internal audit services, announced today that it has acquired PENTA Advisory Services, LLC. PENTA, which has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Richmond, Virginia, provides restructuring and insolvency services; litigation services; and bankruptcy-related tax, accounting and administrative services. Financial details regarding the transaction are not being disclosed. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051101/SFTU041LOGO ) "PENTA has built an outstanding reputation nationwide for its skills and experience in providing guidance for companies faced with complex corporate restructuring or litigation issues," said Everett Gibbs, managing director for Protiviti and chairman of the company's operating committee. "This acquisition not only adds bankruptcy expertise to Protiviti's robust suite of risk consulting and litigation support solutions, but it enables us to respond nationally to organizations or creditors in the midst of financial difficulties by providing them with proven restructuring and bankruptcy consulting capabilities." Protiviti plans to retain PENTA's Baltimore and Richmond locations. PENTA employs 43 full-time professionals, all of whom are joining Protiviti. Four of these individuals are the co-founders of PENTA and are joining Protiviti as managing directors: * Michael Atkinson has more than 15 years of experience providing corporate restructuring, commercial litigation, financial investigation and valuation services. * Guy Davis has 17 years of accounting, finance and consulting experience in the areas of corporate restructuring, commercial litigation, financial investigations and valuation. * Charles Goldstein has 18 years of experience providing consulting services in a variety of areas, including corporate restructuring, bankruptcy consulting, financial investigations and commercial litigation, as well as fiduciary services. * John Lyons has more than 20 years of experience in tax consulting and oversees a wide variety of tax engagements for corporations, partnerships and individuals. PENTA's suite of services will be incorporated into Protiviti's Event Response practice, which encompasses fraud and financial investigations, litigation consulting and e-discovery risk management, and will now include restructuring, bankruptcy consulting and tax advisory services. "We are particularly excited about the synergy between Protiviti and PENTA that we can leverage through this acquisition," said James Pajakowski, managing director and head of Protiviti's Business Risk practice. "Companies with which PENTA currently is working now have the opportunity to benefit from Protiviti's services, such as our e-discovery practice that enables faster and more comprehensive data accumulation and management. In addition, Protiviti's Event Response practice will benefit from the addition of four new managing directors who bring with them proven expertise and decades of experience." Protiviti's Event Response practice is a rapidly developing service line for the company. Within the scope of fraud and financial investigations, Protiviti's experts work with public and private organizations to provide services including forensic accounting, financial restatements, fraud risk assessment, anti-fraud programs and controls, computer forensics and data mining, money laundering prevention and detection, and asset tracking and recovery. With regard to litigation consulting, Protiviti works with law firms and corporations to assist them with all phases of the litigation process, including e-discovery data retrieval and analyses, damage claim preparation and assessment, trial preparation and expert testimony, and post-trial recoveries and remediation. About Protiviti Protiviti (http://www.protiviti.com/) is a leading provider of independent risk consulting and internal audit services. The company provides consulting and advisory services to help clients identify, assess, measure and manage financial, operational and technology-related risks encountered in their industries, and assists in the implementation of the processes and controls to enable their continued monitoring. Protiviti also offers a full spectrum of internal audit services to assist management and directors with their internal audit functions, including full outsourcing, co-sourcing, technology and tool implementation, and quality assessment and readiness reviews. Protiviti, which has more than 50 locations in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE symbol: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half International is a member of the S&P 500 index. PENTA Advisory Services, LLC 2 North Charles StreetSuite 400 Baltimore, MD 21201 Phone: 410.454.6800 1051 East Cary StreetSuite 602 Richmond, VA 23219 Phone: 804.644.7000 http://www.pentallc.com/ NOTE: Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051101/SFTU041LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Protiviti CONTACT: Kevin Donahue, +1-650-234-6385, or , or Kathy Keller, +1-650-234-6252, or , both of Protiviti Web site: http://www.pentallc.com/ Web site: http://www.protiviti.com/

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