CCH Offers Securities Expertise At NCEO Annual Conference

(RIVERWOODS, ILL., April 23, 2002) – The latest regulatory proposals and software for plan administration will the subjects of presentations by James Hamilton, JD, LLM and Anne Thistlethwaite, CEP, of CCH INCORPORATED (CCH) at the National Center for Employee Ownership’s 21st Annual Conference on ESOPs and Broad-Based Stock Option Plans, April 24-26, 2002 in Chicago.  CCH INCORPORATED is a leading provider of securities law information and compliance software.

Compliance in regards to stock plans will be one of the topics addressed by CCH’s Thistlethwaite in an April 24 panel on "Administering a Broad Based Stock Option Plan." Thistlethwaite serves as domain expert for the CCH SEC Compliance Desktop, a set of software modules that automates SEC compliance for equity-based plans, allowing administrators to complying with legal and tax requirements accurately, quickly and easily.

SEC Compliance Desktop includes modules for Section 16 Insider Reporting, Options, Employee Stock Purchase Plans and Performance Plans. Additional modules provide over 160 SEC interactive forms and instructions and an Edgarizing module.

To provide a one-stop spot on the Internet for SEC Compliance Desktop customers, CCH has launched secdesktop.cch.com.

At this address, customers and interested members of the equity plan community can learn more about the CCH and the SEC Compliance Desktop software, contact customer support and download upgrades.

Hamilton, a senior securities law analyst for CCH and author of several books on topics relating to securities disclosure, will make a presentation as part of a panel on "Securities Laws for Stock Option Companies" on April 25.

Hamilton will review new requirements regarding disclosure statements in annual reports, filing of insider-trading reports and the very latest proposed SEC rules regarding disclosure of transactions by officers and directors on Form 8-K, released earlier this month.

Hamilton notes that while it is widely believed that equity compensation can be used to align the interests of employees and stockholders, the position of the SEC is that it is important that plans be closely monitored.

"Through recent actions and proposals, the SEC is attempting to enhance the quality of disclosure, which in theory should lead to better monitoring by investors, better corporate governance, and thereby increased organizational efficiency," Hamilton said.

Attendees of the NCEO 21^st Annual Conference on ESOPs and Broad-Based Stock Option Plans, Addressing Challenges and Transforming the Workplace Environment, held April 24-26, 2002 at the Chicago Mart Plaza Hotel can find additional information about CCH’s compliance software, SEC Compliance Desktop and other CCH securities law products by visiting us at booth 9 in the conference exhibit hall. Additional information about CCH securities and business law products also can be accessed at business.cch.com/securities.

CCH INCORPORATED, founded in 1913, has served four generations of business professionals and their clients. The company produces approximately 700 print and electronic products for securities, tax, legal, banking, securities, human resources, health care and small business markets. CCH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer North America. The CCH web site can be accessed at cch.com.

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