US Department of Veterans Affairs Chooses AndersenConsulting As Exclusive Franchise Integrator.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 1998--

Unique Federal Program To Provide HR, Payroll Services For Other Agencies

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has selected Andersen Consulting as its exclusive partner to deploy human resources and payroll systems to federal government

"We are particularly pleased to team with the VA on this innovative program, which brings our commercial-sector experience in human resources and payroll solutions to federal agencies," stated Stephen J. Rohleder, Managing Partner of Andersen Consulting's Americas Federal Practice.

Congress established the Franchise Funds program in 1996. The program allows selected agencies to sell administrative services such as mainframe computing, records storage, human resources, and accounting systems to other federal agencies. By contracting with the VA to implement human resources and payroll systems, a federal agency can concentrate on its core citizen services, cut costs, and commit resources to fulfilling its mission.

Andersen Consulting was awarded the contract after the VA reviewed a number of competitive bids. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the VA's first customer under the program.

"This partnership will provide the optimal HR and payroll solutions for federal agencies by bringing together the VA's expertise in governmental processes, PeopleSoft's HRMS and Payroll software products, and Andersen Consulting's expertise in federal systems development and implementation," Rohleder said.

"This is an excellent example of a public/private partnership geared toward a public service outcome. By adapting commercial software solutions to meet cross-service, multi-departmental problems, we are able to utilize commercial best practices in IT for the benefit of all federal agencies, and the taxpayers they serve," Rohleder added.

Andersen Consulting's government practice works closely with leading national, state, provincial, and local public service organizations to create citizen-centered services that make a difference in their communities.

Andersen Consulting is a $6.6 billion global management and technology consulting organization whose mission is to help its clients change to be more successful. The organization works with clients from a wide range of industries to link their people, processes and technologies to their strategies. Andersen Consulting has more than 53,000 people in 46 countries. Its home page address is http://www.ac.com.

    CONTACT: Andersen Consulting
              Andrew Giangola, 212/771-2099
              e-mail: andrew.giangola@ac.com