As we launch into the final quarter of 2007, we continue to work closely with our clients to help them achieve ambitious operational and financial results. Today's complex business climate is placing increased pressure on our clients, and all organizations, to develop HR initiatives that are true strategic enablers. We believe that this will have a direct impact on profitability. Therefore, it is imperative that all human resources initiatives be aligned with an organization's short and long term objectives, as well as provide clear differentiation about a company's values and culture. In an effort to maintain this competitive advantage, many of our clients have recently engaged us to benchmark best practices in a wide variety of areas that affect human capital. For example, we recently studied how best-in-class organizations are breaking new ground by implementing innovative employee communications strategies that are targeted to specific demographic groups. These findings are summarized in this issue's In Touch With Talent Management.

Complying with the myriad of intricate regulations that affect employment today continues to be an overwhelming challenge for organizations of all sizes, and in all industries. Recently, there has been a nation-wide increase in class action lawsuits for failure to properly classify employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This has driven this topic to the forefront, causing many employers to scramble in an effort to better understand the provisions and ramifications of this complicated law. We discuss these details in more length in this edition's In Touch With Audit and Compliance.

We remain dedicated to staying abreast of the vast and dynamic trends affecting all areas of human capital, and are committed to providing our clients with timely and pertinent advice and counsel. We hope that you continue to find this Newsletter valuable and we welcome your input and ideas for future topics.