MIKHAILOV & PARTNERS JOINS RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL AS MEMBER FIRM IN RUSSIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 16, 2004 -- Russell Bedford International, the worldwide group of independent professional services firms, has announced the further expansion of its European network by the addition of a new Russian member - Mikhailov & Partners.

Mikhailov & Partners Consulting Group (M&P) was founded in 1995 and is now one of the leading and fastest growing consulting firms in Russia. The group consists of three legally separate entities: the licensed audit firm Mikhailov & Co. Audit; the consulting and accounting practice Mikhailov & Partners Consulting Company; and the legal services firm Mikhailov & Partners Legal Advisors. Mikhailov & Co. Audit is a member of the Moscow Audit Chamber, accredited with the Russian Ministry of Finance.

M&P has more than 150 professional staff including accountants and financial managers, auditors, legal advisers and attorneys-at-law, qualified Russian and international business consultants and tax advisors. The group provides services ranging from bookkeeping, audits and financial management, through business development support, HR management, tax consulting and legal consulting and representation, to complex consulting assignments for foreign businesses in Russia. M&P's client base includes Russian state organisations and enterprises, large and medium size commercial entities and individual entrepreneurs. The group has international clients with operations in USA, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Belarus and elsewhere.

Commenting on his firm's strategic move to join Russell Bedford, founding partner Oleg Nikolaevich Mikhailov explained: "Lately Russia has been actively integrating into the global economy. Consequently foreign investors are becoming more and more interested in developing their businesses in this vast nation. Mikhailov & Partners is one of just a few Russian consulting groups able to provide comprehensive consulting support to foreign businesses in developing an entry and expansion strategy, researching and segmenting the potential markets, identifying and appraising strategic partners and then fully managing the business development process. Being a member of the worldwide Russell Bedford professional services group, M&P will have the opportunity to draw on network resources and provide its clients with multinational support. At the same time, clients of other Russell Bedford members can count on M&P's extensive services for their clients within the Russian Federation."



For further information, contact Katerina Khartchenko (M&P's Director of International Business Development) on +7 095 945 4463 or Kempton Bedell-Harper at Russell Bedford International on +44 20 7410 0339. Alternatively, visit the websites at www.mnp.ru and www.russellbedford.com.



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