Plante & Moran Named to FORTUNE Magazine's "100 Best Places to Work For" List for Eighth Year

Magazine Lauds Longstanding Firm Goal of a "Jerk-Free" Workplace

Southfield, Michigan—January 9, 2006 – Plante & Moran, PLLC announces today that it has been named to FORTUNE Magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the eighth consecutive year. Plante & Moran, a Midwest-based accounting and business advisory firm, was ranked #12 on the 2006 list. Plante & Moran was the highest ranked public accounting and business advisory firm on the list, and has been for the last seven years.

FORTUNE said, “The goal is a ‘jerk-free’ workforce at this accounting firm, where the staff is encouraged to live by the Golden Rule and abide by the credo, ‘Speak up! If it's not right, we'll change it.’" Managing Partner Bill Hermann said that maintaining a supportive culture, even as an organization expands, is a challenge that growing companies face. “We were fortunate to recognize early-on that growing in size and geography did not mean we should abandon the values and culture that worked for us when we were smaller,” Hermann said. “No matter what size organization you have, staff members need to be supported, trained, mentored, and re-recruited no matter how long they’ve been on the job.”

Plante & Moran hired more than 200 people to join the firm in 2006, and has added more than 400 staff over the last five years. Also in the past five years, Plante & Moran has created several new business ventures and added new staff and offices via mergers in Flint, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois.

The award considers workplace initiatives such as work schedule flexibility, unique benefits, employee appreciation vehicles, information sharing from management and a corporate culture that presents distinct opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Specific FORTUNE 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR award criteria, along with profiles of the winning companies, are featured on its website, http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/.