CPA Letter Daily Tops 90,000 Subscribers in First Month, Offers Must-Read Professional News for CPAs and Financial Services Execs

Daily news brief offered by AICPA and powered by SmartBrief Inc. solves "information overload," sees rapid viral growth

October 15, 2008

WASHINGTON (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SmartBrief Inc., the leader in business news aggregation and content delivery, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the national professional organization for CPAs, today announced that the new online newsbrief CPA Letter Daily has exceeded 90,000 subscribers in its first month of publication.

CPA Letter Daily is a solution to one of the greatest challenges facing busy CPAs and financial services professionals -- information overload, the daily bombardment of ever- increasing sources of new content, juxtaposed with the never increasing number of hours in the day. CPA Letter Daily is a free, single-source brief that aggregates and summarizes the day's most important news about the accounting profession from hundreds of publications and content providers.

To that end, CPA Letter Daily's subscriber growth has been driven by intense interest from AICPA members as well as viral growth as those professionals share the publication with others. Nearly 20% of the more than 90,000 subscribers signed up for the daily brief after receiving it from a friend, colleague or co-worker.

"The AICPA strives to provide high-value, timely news and information to its members," said Janice Maiman, AICPA vice president-communications and media channels. "Our partnership with SmartBrief and the launch of the CPA Letter Daily fit squarely within this mission. We're extremely pleased with the results of the launch, which exceeded expectations and confirmed the need for this type of daily online news offering."

CPA Letter Daily is part of a triple-play partnership between AICPA and SmartBrief to launch three online news briefs to AICPA members and other financial services professionals. In addition to the daily publication, SmartBrief and AICPA have introduced the monthly IFRS Report that covers news, trends, resources and case studies in the global movement toward International Financial Reporting Standards. Another monthly online brief, InfoTech Update, provides news, tips and tactics for CPAs and financial services professionals who counsel their clients and employers on technology solutions.

"Over the past nine years, SmartBrief's online news services consistently rank as one of the top member benefits offered by our association partners, providing a daily contact point between our partners and their professional members," said J.P. Moery, SmartBrief executive vice president, association relations. "We're very pleased to be partnering with the AICPA and to be recognized as the leader in the market by this well-regarded organization."

All of the online newsbriefs developed by AICPA and SmartBrief benefit from SmartBrief's proprietary technology and professional editorial judgment to cull the most pertinent material from thousands of sources -- including business publications, leading management schools, trade publications and consulting firms. SmartBrief editors act as subscribers' virtual research assistants who read, summarize and deliver topical news stories via e-mail and BlackBerry/PDAs every weekday.

To review a copy of CPA Daily Letter powered by SmartBrief click here. Readers can also sign up for AICPA newsbriefs through a widget (an interactive Web-based tool powered by SmartBrief) on the AICPA's homepage, www.aicpa.org. The widget, which contains each day's newsletter headlines, can be placed on a Web site, blog or social networking profile through a simple "Grab this" function.

About the AICPA

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org ) is the national professional organization of CPAs, with more than 350,000 CPA members in business and industry, public practice, government, education, student affiliates and international associates. It sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, nonprofit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination.

The AICPA maintains offices in New York; Washington, D.C.; Durham, N.C.; Ewing, N.J.; and Lewisville, Texas.

About SmartBrief

SmartBrief publishes more than 85 industry-specific e-mail newsletters in partnership with prominent professional societies, associations, nonprofits and corporate entities. More than 1.8 million executives and professionals in 24 sectors rely on SmartBrief to stay informed and save them time. We deliver industry news, handpicked from newspapers and trade journals, with publication frequencies that vary from daily to monthly. To learn more visit: www.smartbrief.com

Media Contact:

SmartBrief, Inc.

Kori Williams

RMR & Associates

301-230-0045 ext. 18

kwilliams@rmr.com

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

Joel Allegretti

Director of Media Relations

(212) 596-6111

jallegretti@aicpa.org

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