BDO International has been named one of the first full members of the Forum of Firms after reporting it has implemented a globally coordinated quality assurance programme, committed to the use of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), and met other specific ethics requirements, the Forum announced today.

Sixteen other international networks of accounting firms also achieved full member status, the first group of firms to do so since the Forum was formally established in 2002. A list of the Forum's members is attached.

'BDO International is proud to be among the first group of Forum members,' said Frans Samyn, CEO of BDO International. 'We have embraced the high quality assurance and ethics standards required of Forum members in order to serve the public interest and to help raise the standards of the international practice of auditing.'

The Forum of Firms is an association of international networks of accounting firms. These firms perform audits of financial statements that are or may be used across national borders. The Forum's goal is to promote consistent and high quality standards of financial reporting and auditing practices world wide. It conducts its business through its executive arm, the Transnational Auditors Committee (TAC), which is also a committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The members of TAC are nominated by Forum members. BDO is represented on the TAC by Peter Chidgey of BDO Stoy Hayward LLP (as a member) and Wayne Kolins of BDO Seidman LLP (as an alternate member), both having served since the committee's inception in 2002.

In order to achieve full membership status, BDO International had to commit to meet the Forum's membership obligations, which require members to:

• Maintain appropriate quality control standards in accordance with International Standards on Quality Control issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) in addition to relevant national quality control standards and conduct, to the extent not prohibited by national regulation, regular globally coordinated internal quality assurance reviews
• Have policies and methodologies for the conduct of transnational audits that are based, to the extent practicable, on ISAs issued by the IAASB
• Have policies and methodologies which conform to the IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and national codes of ethics

BDO International originally joined the Forum as a provisional member. As of January 2008, of the 21 Forum members, 17 are full members and 4 are provisional members. The Forum's remaining provisional members are working towards becoming full members in 2008.

As a full member of the Forum, BDO International is entitled to indicate Forum membership on its web site, letterhead, and in its publications.