Depressed valuations may help fuel acquisitions in specialty finance and asset management and brokerage, as buyers can pick up strong franchises at discount prices. But as buyers continue to struggle with their own business and past deals, M&A will probably remain flat for some time.

Large deals just aren't getting done. We continue to see smaller deals, but companies are still hesitant to take any risk. This trend is likely to continue until the clouds of Enron, WorldCom and Arthur Andersen clear.

M&A in insurance was bleak this quarter. Equity market jitters combined with accounting and reserve issues will likely keep M&A sluggish for the next couple of quarters.

There's uncertainty within the insurance industry, as companies are currently unwilling to take the risk of another company's business and infrastructure. There also have been plenty of rate increases, so there is not as much pressure to grow through acquisition.

Ian is recognized as a leader in bringing together IT, finance and operations professionals to address critical Performance Management challenges including governance, process improvement and information technology. His proven sales leadership skills will help us achieve our revenue goals as we invest in the expansion of our research and services teams.

We have seen a recklessness in the management of state government and finance that has been unprecedented.