Beers & Cutler Supports University Of Maryland Business School With Scholarship Endowment

May 16, 2006, Tysons Corner, VA Beers & Cutler, the leading accounting and consulting firm focused on the Washington DC region, announced today its plans to establish the James R. Beers Scholarship Endowment with a donation from Beers & Cutler matched by founding partner Jim Beers totaling $250,000 to the University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business. Funds will be designated for scholarships for undergraduate students at the Smith Schools College Park and Shady Grove campuses.

Beers & Cutler shares in the Smith Schools commitment to seek students who excel in academic performance and who demonstrate the potential for exemplary contribution to the accounting profession. The firm has created the James R. Beers Scholarship Endowment to honor founding partner James R. Beers contribution to the profession and to recognize outstanding academic performance in the Smith Schools undergraduate accounting program.

In the endowments inaugural year, five James R. Beers Scholarships in the amount of $2,500 each will be awarded to a combination of the Smith Schools junior and senior accounting students. James R. Beers Scholars will be chosen annually based on various criteria including:

Accounting majors
Accounting and cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above
Evidence of leadership
Financial need

In addition to the James R. Beers Scholarships, two outstanding senior accounting majors will be chosen as Beers & Cutler Teaching Scholars on the basis of their academic achievement, technical skills, proficiency and interpersonal skills. The two seniors will receive stipends of $3,200 and will work for 500 hours per academic year teaching class review sessions and interacting with sophomore accounting students.

Our long-time relationship with Jim Beers and Beers & Cutler includes a shared commitment to the growth of the Smith Schools accounting students as well as a shared support for the accounting profession, said Howard Frank, dean of the University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business. We are delighted to accept this gift which will play a positive role in the educational development of the next generation of accounting professionals in the Washington, DC region.

We have a deep familiarity with the quality of students who come from the Robert H. Smith School of Business as many of our partners and professionals are alumni. We are delighted to be able to make a financial contribution to such a successful and widely-respected program, said Beers & Cutler managing partner, Ed Offterdinger. We are excited about the opportunities that will be created by the James R. Beers Scholarship and the Beers & Cutler Teaching Scholars programs. The establishment of the endowment in Jim Beers name will support the development of future CPAs in Maryland and provide a lasting legacy for our founding partner. We hope that the educational and teaching experiences provided by both contributions will assist the recipients in achieving their professional goals upon graduation and further strengthen our profession, Offterdinger added.

About Beers & Cutler
Beers & Cutler is the leading accounting and consulting firm focused on the Washington DC region with more than 250 employees providing tax, assurance and consulting services to many of the areas top companies and institutions. As experts in the industries that drive the regions economy, Beers & Cutler blends technical expertise with in-depth industry experience in real estate, commercial business, professional services and government contracting.

Beers & Cutler is one of the Top 50 Firms in the Nation as cited by Accounting Today. The firm is an independent member of Baker Tilly International, a premier international network of accounting and business advisory firms.

About the Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research for the digital economy. One of 13 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, Executive MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in four continents including North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. More information about the Robert H. Smith School of Business can be found at www.rhsmith.umd.edu.