dear fellow shar eholders As your new Chief Executive Officer, I appreciate this opportunity to review the year 2000 and explain the significant improvements  we have made to enhance the performance of our company. By the start of 2000, after three years of rapid growth, primarily through acquisitions, we had r eached a critical stage in our evolution. Completing such a large number of acquisitions in a relatively short period of time was an enor mous effort. As is often the case, the  infrastructure necessar to manage such a diverse and growing organization  does not always evolve at the same swift pace. This was the case at CBIZ.  The rapid growth the company experienced through 1999 resulted in the need  for greater corporate integration. The challenge for our management team was to revise the management  structure, improve the management process and create an atmosphere that  fostered our working together as one business. This task was difficult, but made easier by the fact that we had experienced and committed professionals working in business units that were well positioned in their industry. When I arrived in the fourth quarter substantial progress had already been made in the areas of expense and debt reduction, premises consolidations and business unit rationalization. However, many of the business units were still not performing at expected levels. As a team, we developed a plan to further stabilize the business, improve its financial performance and continue toward achieving our vision. We have already accomplished a great deal. In December we hired a new chief financial officer, Ware Grove, who brings to us substantial experience as a public company CFO with particular expertise in restructuring, integration and strategic planning. We implemented a  new organizational structur and management process, completed the consolidation of our accounting and cash management systems,  completed the divestitur of four non-strategic businesses and closed another which had lost money in 2000. Bank debt was reduced from $158.5 million in March to $117.5 million by year end and the company adopted plans for significant further debt reduction.  Expense controls were revised and adjusted to be consistent with the operating plans for 2001.  As a result, the business is poised for very positive and profitable growth in 2001. CBIZ has a unique market opportunity and is the only company that provides our scope of services to small and mid-market businesses.  2