Malin Bergquist, a Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership Sponsor, Launches Website in German to Attract Foreign Journalists and Tout the Region's Strengths to International Audiences

As a sponsor of the Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership, and to help leverage Pittsburgh's rare opportunity on the global stage, the firm launches a G-20 website in German and English, answering the question "Why Pittsburgh?" It features the impact that foreign companies have had on Pittsburgh's regional economy, focusing on German businesses.

The website highlights four German-owned companies with Pittsburgh as their U.S. base -- ARDEX, Draeger Safety, Flabeg Solar and Lanxess -- and is a resource for the thousands of journalists who will descend upon Pittsburgh or monitor G-20 activity from afar.

About the G-20 Summit - The Group of 20 (G-20) Summit will be held in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24-25, 2009. G-20 is the global meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from important industrial and emerging-market countries from all regions of the world.

In a Sept. 8 statement, President Obama praised Pittsburgh as "a bold example of how to create new jobs and industries while transitioning to a 21st century economy." Full text.

This is the first U.S.-held G-20 summit to be sited outside of Washington, DC. The firm will use its sponsorship role to help the Pittsburgh region maximize its opportunity for worldwide recognition during the high profile event. The Pittsburgh G-20 Partnership is a public-private partnership of organizations throughout the region that have come together to welcome the world to Pittsburgh. Sponsors are providing time, talent and resources to assure a welcoming, clean and green event and showcase Pittsburgh's turnaround.

Why Pittsburgh? - The reason why Pittsburgh was chosen to host the G-20 Summit, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, was that it is a global model for economic and environmental transformation. The city has reinvented itself with an economy driven by strengths in advanced manufacturing, financial services, information and communications technologies, health care and life sciences, education and research, and energy and environmental solutions. During his 2008 campaign, President Barack Obama visited Pittsburgh and noted: "This American city has found new opportunity... Now, we must connect that local innovation and ingenuity to a national strategy."

Jeffrey Deane, CPA International Businesses Group Leader

About Malin Bergquist and Jeffrey Deane - The firm's sponsorship is announced at a June 30 press conference held by Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny Conference CEO Dennis Yablonsky. Malin Bergquist is the only certified public accounting firm among the 31 major corporate sponsors.

Malin Bergquist's G-20 website is the brainchild of Jeffrey Deane, leader of the firm's International Businesses Group, which serves 40 international companies, including a substantial number from Germany. Deane is a national authority on international financial reporting standards (IFRS) who counsels companies on IFRS convergence and has published about IFRS in the Journal of Accountancy, the bible of the profession. He is helping the prestigious American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to write IFRS questions for future CPA exams.

Deane Available for Comment - One of the leading issues debated among some G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors is an overhaul of the U.S. financial system. This dialogue includes a switch from generally accepted accounting procedures (GAAP) to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) that would have a vast impact on Corporate America as well as small and medium size businesses.

At issue is whether the U.S. should abandon its tried and true, but complex and globally unpopular financial reporting system and join the majority of the industrialized world in adopting IFRS. With more than 100 countries already having adopted IFRS, its use in the U.S. could result in a higher degree of foreign investor confidence, as well as more foreign firms listing securities or establishing operations here. At a time when the financial health of U.S. and foreign companies are tightly intertwined -- and when scandals and mismanagement have upended Wall Street and badly shaken investor confidence -- the questions of corporate oversight, accountability and transparency have never been so important.

Deane is a nationally recognized authority on IFRS and available to journalists to explain IFRS in layman terms and go deeper into why this is so important for U.S. businesses. Tel: +01 (412) 364-9395 – email: jdeane@malinbergquist.com.