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MEI EARNS SAS 70 TYPE II CERTIFICATION – ALLOWS CPG MANUFACTURERS TO OPTIMIZE THEIR TRADE PROMOTION MANAGEMENT EFFORTS

Audit Ensures MEI Meets Adequate Controls and Safeguards When Hosting and Processing Customer Data

PITTSBURGH, PA – June 15, 2010 ––MEI Computer Technology Group, Inc. - a leading developer of trade promotion management (TPM) software for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry – today announced it has earned a Statement of Auditing Standards (SAS 70) Type II Certification.  With MEI’s new certification, customers can confidently leverage the Company’s hosted TPM offering and eliminate the costly capital expenses associated with buying and supporting their own information technology infrastructure.

 

“MEI is committed to helping its clients increase control of trade spending while improving Forecast Accuracy, Deduction Management and establishing more profitable, strategic selling,” said Lorne Schwartz, chief executive officer of MEI.  “With this latest certification, all MEI clients can experience the benefits of a comprehensive, hosted TPM solution without having to support the solution internally.”

 

SAS 70 (the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70) defines the standards an auditor must employ in order to assess the contracted internal controls of a service organization.  Service organizations provide outsourcing services that affect the operation of the contracting enterprise.  The SAS 70 was developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as a simplification of a set of criteria for auditing standards originally defined in 1988.

 

Under SAS 70, auditor reports are classified as either Type I or Type II.  In a Type I report, the auditor evaluates the efforts of a service organization at the time of audit to prevent accounting inconsistencies, errors and misrepresentation.  The auditor also evaluates the likelihood that those efforts will produce the desired future results.  A Type II report includes the same information as that contained in a Type I report; in addition, the auditor attempts to determine the effectiveness of agreed-on controls since their implementation.  Type II reports also incorporate data compiled during a specific time period, usually a minimum of six months.

 

About MEI

MEI is a global provider of trade promotion management solutions.  Founded in 1983, MEI enables companies to reshape their sales and marketing activities by directly linking all phases of the planning process, thus improving the efficiency of their customers’ trade spending, account management, sales planning, forecasting and reconciling.  The Company provides proven, reliable and highly reference-able sales solutions for the Consumer Goods industry, and continues to help companies such as HJ Heinz Company, Pinnacle Foods Group LLC, Solo Cup, Energizer Personal Care, Morton Salt and The Schwan Food Company increase profits, strengthen brand assets and provide better supply chain and inventory management.  MEI clients through the hosted model include Afexa Life Sciences, American Licorice Company, American Pie, J&J Snack Foods Corp, Marcal Manufacturing LLC, Pacific Natural Foods, Pierre Foods, Ruiz Foods, Sunny Delight, Sunsweet Growers and WhiteWave Foods.  For more information on MEI, please visit www.meicpg.com or call 1-800-INFO-MEI.