Xinhua Finance Media Appoints New Director to Audit Committee and Retains Protiviti Inc. for SOX Compliance
06 November 2007 - 9:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
BEIJING, Nov. 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Xinhua Finance Media
("XFMedia"; Nasdaq: XFML), China's leading diversified financial
and entertainment media company, today announced that its Board of
Directors has appointed independent director Mr. Steve Richards to
its Audit Committee, joining existing members, Mr. Aloysius T.
Lawn, committee chairman, and Mr. John Springer, committee member.
Moreover, the Company also announced that it has retained Protiviti
Inc., a leading independent organization dedicated exclusively to
risk consulting and internal auditing, to provide consulting
services related to the Company's Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404
compliance efforts. Mr. Steve Richards currently is COO of Silver
Pictures, a film production company founded by film producer Joel
Silver and affiliated with Warner Bros., and co-president of Dark
Castle Entertainment, a division of Silver Pictures. Prior to these
positions, he had been CFO of Silver Pictures since 1996 and took a
number of finance or controller positions in other companies,
public and private, with a focus on the entertainment industry. Mr.
Richards obtained his CPA in 1992 after working for Arthur Andersen
in Los Angeles. He holds an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School and a
BA in accounting from Temple University. Photo link:
http://www.xinhuafinancemedia.com/SteveRichards Mr. Steve Richards
said, "I am privileged to join the Board of a company with such an
impressive track record, potential for growth, and strong
positioning in the marketplace. Coming from the financial side of
the entertainment industry, I look forward to the opportunity to
apply my knowledge of finance and accounting in an effort to help
XFMedia reach its objectives for growth and expand its range of
services." "On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our
appreciation to Mr. Richards for taking more responsibilities at
the Board level. His CFO experience and qualified finance
background will be of great value to our Audit Committee as well as
the company itself," said Ms. Fredy Bush, Chairman and CEO of
XFMedia. "The strengthened composition of the board and its
committee, combined with the engagement of Protiviti, will boost
our continued efforts to ensure we meet a high standard of
corporate governance." Protiviti Inc. is one of the leading
providers of independent risk consulting services working with
companies on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance efforts. Protiviti has
served a number of Chinese companies listed on NASDAQ and NYSE.
Notes to Editors Biography of Mr. Steve Richards Mr. Steve Richards
is COO of Silver Pictures, a film production company founded by
film producer Joel Silver and affiliated with Warner Bros., and co-
president of Dark Castle Entertainment, a division of Silver
Pictures. Formerly CFO of Silver Pictures, Mr. Richards began his
relationship with Joel Silver and Silver Pictures in 1995. He was
instrumental in developing the $450 million business plan for Dark
Castle and in forging a financial partnership with CIT Group Inc.,
which will finance the production of 15 films over the next six
years. Mr. Richards began his career in film production and
distribution as controller for the International Movie Group, a
publicly listed company. Subsequently, he helped launch Scott Free,
a production company founded by renowned directors Ridley and Tony
Scott. Mr. Richards obtained his CPA in 1992 after working for
Arthur Andersen in Los Angeles with a focus on the entertainment
industry. He holds an MBA from UCLA's Anderson School and a BA from
Temple University. About Protiviti Inc. Protiviti is a leading
provider of independent internal audit and business and technology
risk consulting services. Protiviti helps clients identify, assess
and manage financial, operational and technology-related risks
encountered in their industries, and assist in the implementation
of the processes and controls to enable continued monitoring.
Protiviti also offer 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 review.
Protiviti employs more than 3,000 professionals in 60 locations
throughout the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. The name
Protiviti represents professionalism, integrity and independence.
Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half International
(RHI), a $4.0 billion public company and a member company of the
S&P 500 index. About Xinhua Finance Media Limited Xinhua
Finance Media ("XFMedia"; Nasdaq: XFML) is China's leading
diversified financial and entertainment media company targeting
high net worth individuals nationwide. The company reaches its
target audience via TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and other
distribution channels. Through its five synergistic business
groups, Advertising, Broadcast, Print, Production and Research,
XFMedia offers a total solution empowering clients at every stage
of the media process and keeping people connected and entertained.
Headquartered in Beijing, the company has offices and affiliates in
major cities of China including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou,
Shenzhen and Hong Kong. For more information, please visit
http://www.xinhuafinancemedia.com/ . Safe Harbor Statement This
announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements
are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements can be identified by terminology such as "will,"
"expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"estimates," "confident" and similar statements. Among other
things, quotations from management in this announcement contain
forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical
facts, including statements about XFMedia's beliefs and
expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in
any forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, risks outlined in XFMedia's
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including
its registration statement on Form F-1. All information provided in
this press release is as of the date hereof, and XFMedia undertakes
no duty to update such information, except as required under
applicable law. For more information, please contact: Xinhua
Finance Media Joy Tsang Tel: +86-21-6113-5999 Email: DATASOURCE:
Xinhua Finance Media Limited CONTACT: Joy Tsang of Xinhua Finance
Media, +86-21-6113-5999, or Web Site:
http://www.xinhuafinancemedia.com/
http://www.xinhuafinancemedia.com/SteveRichards
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