Do You Know What Your Firm is Worth? Valuing a Background Screening Company
by: Cherie Smith Homa, Managing Director
KPMG Corporate Finance LLC

Most background screening companies are bullish on the future growth of the industry. In a recent KPMG Corporate Finance LLC survey (the “KPMG Survey”) of companies in the background screening industry, nearly all respondents expected revenue to increase over the next 12 months, and 40% expect revenue to increase more than 25%. Over the past few years, the awareness of the value of screening has increased substantially and more companies are requiring screening as part of the new hiring process. In the recent KPMG Survey, 54% of all respondents have considered acquiring another company, with over 70% of large and medium-sized companies considering acquisitions. Current acquisition activity is being driven by firms trying to: 1) expand and bundle complementary software and services with screening services, and 2) expand the range of existing business footprint via geography, services, or customer base. The positive outlook for the industry, the fragmented nature of the industry and the competitive benefits of being a larger company, will result in continued consolidation.

For More Information Click Here

San Francisco No Longer Will Ask Job Applicants About Conviction Records

In its never-ending quest to end discrimination in all shapes and forms, San Francisco will no longer ask most city job applicants up front if they've ever been convicted of a crime. "The goal is not to discourage ex-offenders from applying for city jobs that they are eligible for,'' said ever-liberal Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who is expected to join supporters Tuesday at a news conference outside City Hall promoting the open-arms policy for "formerly incarcerated people.'' "Obviously if ex-offenders are going to become law-abiding citizens, they have to be able to get employment,"

For More Information go to: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/15/BAG3PGNK511.DTL

Sex offenders the target of legislators, candidates

A get-tough policy toward sex offenders not only tops Maryland’s General Assembly's agenda this year, but it has also emerged as a major campaign issue in the race for governor. The issue began receiving attention from state leaders after the Sun reported in July that nearly one in five of the more than 4,300 addresses recorded in the state's sex offender registry is inaccurate.

For More Information go to: http://www.baltimoresun.com

Guilty Plea in ChoicePoint ID theft case

In Los Angeles a Nigerian national pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy and grand theft involving identity theft that authorities say was accomplished by accessing personal information stolen from consumer data collector ChoicePoint Inc.

For more information go to: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/13453531.htm

FTC imposes $10M fine against ChoicePoint for data breach

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has imposed a $10 million civil penalty against data aggregator ChoicePoint Inc. for a massive data security breach that resulted in the compromise of nearly 160,000 consumer records last year. In addition to the penalty, which FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras described as the largest ever levied by the agency, ChoicePoint has been asked to set up a $5 million trust fund for individuals who might have become victims of identity theft as a result of the breach. As part of its agreement with the FTC, Alpharetta, Ga.-based ChoicePoint will also have to submit to comprehensive security audits every two years for the next 20 years. "This is an important victory for consumers," Majoras said. "This tells companies that they must protect sensitive consumer information. They must guard the front door as well as guard the back.

For more information go to: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/01/choicepoint.htm

With the holiday season having recently passed you hopefully had a chance to take a great vacation for some rest and relaxation. If you vacationed in the fabulous Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas in early January or are a member of the Marriott Vacation Club International your personal records may have been breached. For more information on Atlantis (see http://www.computerworld.com) or for Marriott Vacation Club (see http://www.boston.com) We go on vacation to get away from the realities of the world and the last thing that we expect is that they will follow us.

Background Screening Works

In a recent report released by InfoLink Screening Services, on average over 36% of job applicants had discrepancies in their reported employment history, 14% in education records, 8.5% had criminal records and 3% tested positive for illegal drugs. The study analyzed more than 100,000 applicants from January through June 2005.

For more information go to: http://www.infolinkscreening.com/InfoLink/Resources/Articles/applicant_hit_ratio_2005.aspx

Please answer the following question by choosing a single answer.

Which of the following do you believe will become the key identifier of applicants in the future?

To answer go to https://websurveyor.net/wsb.dll/49092/Identifier.htm

Thank you for taking the time to answer the question. The results will be posted in the February edition.

Suppliers and vendors who provide products and services to the Background Screening Industry are an essential part of the industry and have been integral in the growth of the industry. Our Vendor Showcase is the only Directory on the Internet that is specifically focused on FEATURING suppliers and vendors to the Background Screening Industry. We are committed to your success so we are making you an unbelievable offer - with the purchase of a Platinum membership listing in our Vendor Showcase for the discounted price of $400.00 we will give you a Free Platinum ad in The Background Buzz. That is a $450.00 value for Free. This will bring your company's message to the desk top of over 1500 background screening firms. This offer has been extended until February 15, 2006.

Contact Barry Nixon at wbnixon@aol.com to FEATURE your company in our Vendor Showcase, today!

Boost Your Sales by Creating an E-zine for your Business

So you have bit the bullet and decided to launch an online newsletter or webzine for your business. So now you have to decide who will come up with content ideas, do the writing, produce and deliver the webzine. You also want to track the results to see the benefit of committing resources and time to this endeavor. Is this starting to sound familiar? Since we produce The Background Buzz monthly I know first hand what is involved in committing to produce and distribute a webzine.

Some of the questions you have to answer when you start a webzine include: How often should I send my webzine to subscribers? Weekly? Twice a month? Monthly? Bi-monthly? Quarterly? Whenever you get around to it? Needless to say to maximize the benefit and return you will get from distributing the webzine you need to email it on regular schedule and remember the more frequent the more work. If you decide to include in your webzine articles that your readers will find valuable, this will help establish you as a valuable source for information and if you include informative articles from your staff it will help establish your firm as ‘experts’ in your field. This latter point is ‘easier said then done’ because you are already too busy, so where do you find time to write and produce a newsletter weekly or monthly. Fortunately, there are some easy solutions to this problem:

1. Invite guest experts to write for you.
2. Hire a freelance writer.
3. If you want general content check out article distribution sites, (search the web for ‘Free Web Content’ or ‘Free Articles’ or ‘Ezine Articles.’
4. If you want specific content to the background screening industry subscribe to our Private Branded Subscription Service. We have already done the work, the research and are knowledgeable about the background screening industry. You can share the valuable information from The Background Buzz that you have come to appreciate directly with your clients (minus the ads and competitive information and with your own personalized title/header) to build your relationship with them, to build their confidence in you as a resource and to cross sell your products and services. Click here for more information

First Advantage Acquires Trustar Solutions, Inc.

First Advantage Corporation announced the acquisition of TruStar Solutions, Inc., an innovative online talent acquisition services firm. The addition of TruStar Solutions' services expands First Advantage Employer Services' portfolio, which provides employers with a robust hiring solution that now encompasses recruiting strategies, applicant tracking, tax credits screening, background screening, substance abuse testing and more.

For more information go to: www.FADV.com.

USIS acquires leading provider of information solutions to insurance industry and government entities

USIS announced plans to acquire Explore Information Services, a leading provider of violation-monitoring database and related services to the auto insurance industry and government entities. Explore’s exception-based reporting services deliver cost-effective underwriting information to property and casualty insurers.

For more information go to: http://www.usis.com/commercialservices/intro.htm

Verified Person Gets $12M

Verified Person, the background-checking firm that got its start screening online daters, has picked up $12 million in its second round of funding as corporations and government agencies have bought into the technology. According to CEO Tal Moise the money came from Sevin Rosen Funds and Rho Capital Partners. His startup has now raised a total of $14.5 million since it was founded two and a half years ago. He wanted to develop a way for people to prove they were who they said they were by pointing to a third party. Just as Verisign authenticates web sites, Mr. Moise thought he might be able to authenticate people. His plan: leverage the reams of personally identifiable data available through a variety of sources into a single, secure database. Make that database easy to use and only give people access to a small slice of data.

For more information go to: http://www.redherring.com

BECOME A PLATINUM MEMBER OF PREEMPLOYMENTDIRECTORY.COM Your listing will include a front page listing of your logo in both the Alphabetical and Geographic (US or International) sections or Vendor Showcase as well as rotational placement on the front page of the Directory. Be sure to sign up to for this great value. Sign up now to avoid 2006 price increase on February 15, 2006. Services Provided for Platinum Members: A listing with your firm’s name, address, telephone number and live link to your Web site Direct sales contact name, phone and instant email link so buyers can contact you easily and quickly Up to 1 page company/product description or advertisement 4 color company/product Logo Priority positioning at the top of the page above general listings on the first page for each alphabet and for each state in US. Priority positioning above general listings at the top of the page for your country in the International section and at the top of the page for the designated subcategory in the Vendor Showcase. Unlimited Free updates to your listing throughout the year Eligible for logo placement on landing page for “First” contact with employers Receive referrals for business opportunities that arise from our clients and others that come to our attention Click here for more information  INTERNATIONAL: Nasscom launches database of IT, BPO pros in India In a move that could effectively filter out errant employees and reduce the risk of fraud-related activities in the IT industry, Nasscom today launched the National Skills Registry - the first-ever centralised database of employees of IT services and BPO companies. "This will be a centralised database of information about the employees' professional and educational background. The registry, which will be managed by National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), has been specially designed to ensure authenticity of data through independent verification and biometric identification of individual," said the Minister for Communications and IT, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, while launching the new database. For More Information go to: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/01/19/stories/2006011902280400.htm LASON India Plans to Add 1,600 Employees LASON India, a subsidiary of LASON, Inc., headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA, and one of the leading providers of Business Process Outsourcing solutions in the world, has announced that it has plans to add 1,600 new jobs in India to support the growth of its business. For More Information go to: www.lason.com British Teacher Agencies Not Carrying Out Proper Background Checks Only a quarter of Britain's supply teaching agencies have signed up to a Government-backed scheme designed to keep sex offenders out of schools. The disclosure that only 60 out of Britain's 232 supply teacher recruitment firms have signed up for the Government's Quality Mark initiative will exacerbate fears that agencies are not carrying out proper background checks on staff. It is the latest disclosure to hit Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, who has been at the centre of a political storm since it emerged that a number of child sex offenders had found work in schools. For More Information go to: http://www.telegraph.co.uk Oracle to hire 1,400 more in India Global enterprise software company Oracle says it will increase its headcount in India to 10,000 in the next eight months, while expanding into nine non-metro cities. The current headcount in India is 8,600 people across six cities, which would be increased to 10,000 in next eight months, company president Charles Phillips said in Mumbai. For More Information go to: http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/jan/10oracle.htm  EXTRAORDINARY OPPORTUNITY TO ADVERTISE IN PRIME LOCATION – MAXIMIZE YOUR VISIBILITY: We are making the prime location on the landing page of the Preemployment Screening Directory available to a limited number of companies to promote their business (exclusively available to Platinum members). We will feature your logo with a live link that goes directly to your web site. This means you get the first chance to connect with employers and close them before your competitors ever get a chance to talk to them. The landing page is where you see "Click here to find a Preemployment Background Screening Company." These Ads will run for 13, 26 or 52 weeks. Click here to get more Information and to create more selling opportunities.

Click here for more information about advertising in The Background Buzz, PreemploymentDirectory.com – Sections: US Provider, International, Vendor Showcase.

SHRM 20006 Annual Employment Management Association Conference & Exposition, March 30-April 1, 2006, Manchester Grand Hyatt, San Diego, CA – see www.shrm.org/conferences/ema/expo.asp

2006 Annual NAPBS Conference, April 2-5, 2006, Doubletree Nashville, Nashville, TN – see http://www.napbs.com/calendar/calendar.htm

Business Forums International, 2nd Annual European Pre-Employment Vetting & Screening Conference - 28 April 2006 – Copenhagen – see http://www.bfi.co.uk/

Business Forums International, Pre-Employment Vetting & Screening Conference USA - 11 May 2006 -New York - see http://www.bfi.co.uk/

SHRM 20006 Annual Conference & Exposition, June 25 – 28, 2006, Washington, DC Convention Center – see http://www.shrm.org/conferences/annual/