On 13 July 2007, the State Hermitage signed a General Agreement of Cooperation with the auditing and consultancy firm BDO Yunikon. The General Agreement states that BDO Yunikor will be the Official Consultant to the Hermitage in support of many Russian and international projects, drawing upon the resources of the worldwide network of BDO International. Among the areas for joint work will be the creation of an endowment fund, the use of charitable funds and other forms of museum activity to attract money for its development.

BDO Yunikon will also participate in efforts to protect the interests of the cultural institution in the area of customs paperwork and in conducting tenders. It is well known that existing legislation does not take into account the peculiarities of museum activity in these areas.

According to Zorina Myskova, General Director of the BDO Yunikon office in St Petersburg and advisor to the Ministry of Culture and the Mass Media: "The experience and knowledge accumulated by BDO Yunikon in its work in support of the major institutions that are part of the national heritage, including those in St Petersburg, allows us to provide professional assistance to the State Hermitage and help it strengthen the best traditions of Russian culture while saving world heritage masterpieces."

Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage emphasized the following: "BDO Yunikon’s wish to help the State Hermitage to solve many topical issues relating to the operational peculiarities of cultural institutions in the context of present legislation is a splendid initiative and good token of the strengthening of healthy tendencies in our society."

"It is a great honor for us to implement joint projects with the State Hermitage. Helping culture and art is one of the most important basic missions of BDO Yunikon. I hope that our cooperation will facilitate the preservation of the centuries old traditions of Russian and world art," commented the General Director of BDO Yunikon Andrei Dubinsky.

Information about the company and the BDO Group:

BDO Yunikon CJSC is the largest independent nationwide auditing and consulting company, a leader among Russian auditing and consulting organizations and the exclusive representative of BDO International in Russia.

BDO Yunikon has been registered by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) of the USA and has passed qualification selection by the World Bank (IBRS). The company cooperates actively with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). BDO Yunikon has the right to carry out audits of projects financed by these international financial organizations on the territory of the Russian Federation and countries of the CIS. Its 2006 total revenue amounted to 2.1 billion rubles. The overall number of employees of the BDO Yunikon Group of Companies is more than 1,700 persons.

BDO International is the largest international auditing network. It was founded in 1963 by the joining of companies in Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA and Canada to provide auditing services to the international operations of their clients. The combined sales of BDO International in 2006 was in excess of $3.9 billion.

BDO International unites the experience of around 30,000 employees in 625 offices in 111 countries worldwide, including Europe, North and South America, the Asia-Pacific Region, Australia, the Middle East, the Far East and Africa.

The client base of BDO includes companies from all sectors of the economy, among them trans-national corporations and the leading worldwide financial institutions such as ABN AMRO, AEG, American Express Bank, Bank of America, Beiersdorf, BFI Bank, BNP-Dresdner Bank, Credit Agricole Indosuez, Credit Suisse First Boston, Daewoo Electronics, Daimler-Chrysler, Diners Club, Dunlop, Eleñtrolux, Ericsson, Hapag-Lloyd, Kodak, Lufthansa, MAN, Michelin, National Westminster Bank, Radisson, Saab Scania, Siemens, Schering, Sheraton, Sun Systems, Societe Generale, Svenska Handelsbanken, Tetra Pak, Thyssen, T-Mobile, Visa.

BDO Yunikon NorthWest Ltd is a subsidiary of BDO Yunikon CJSC that was created in 2002. Today the company occupies a leading position in the market of auditing, appraisals and consulting in St Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast.

BDO Yunikon NorthWEst is a corporate member of the professional auditing association - the Institute of Professional Bookkeepers and Auditors of Russia, a member of the Russian Society of Appraisers, the Leningrad Oblast Chamber of Trade and Industry, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, St. Petersburg Chapter).