Novell Announces Change in Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms

27 September 2004

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) today announced it has retained PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as its independent registered public accounting firm, effective for the fiscal year 2005 beginning Nov. 1, 2004. PricewaterhouseCoopers replaces Ernst & Young LLP, who will be retained to complete the fiscal year 2004 audit.

The decision to change independent registered public accounting firms was made by the company's Audit Committee of the Board of Directors following the solicitation of proposals from both Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers to perform the company’s fiscal year 2005 audit.

Fred Corrado, chairman of Novell's Audit Committee, said, "During the past two years, Novell has executed major strategic changes, including substantial changes in its product strategy, management, board of directors, and now its independent accountants. Novell has had a long and successful working relationship with Ernst & Young, and we thank them for their service."

During the two fiscal years ended Oct. 31, 2003, and the subsequent interim period through Sept. 24, 2004, there were no disagreements with Ernst & Young on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Ernst & Young, would have caused it to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in connection with its reports. Furthermore, Ernst & Young's audit reports for the two most recently completed fiscal years did not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were they qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

There were no consultations during the two fiscal years ended Oct. 31, 2003, and the subsequent interim period through Sept. 24, 2004, by Novell with PricewaterhouseCoopers regarding the application of accounting principles or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the company’s financial statements.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) is a leading provider of infrastructure software and services to over 50,000 customers in 43 countries. With more than 20 years of experience in data center, workgroup and desktop solutions, Novell's 6,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world are meeting customer requirements for identity-driven computing and Linux solutions. By providing enterprise-class software and support for commercial and open source software, Novell delivers increased operating flexibility and choice at a lower total cost of ownership. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com.

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This statement contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provision of the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, as described in Novell's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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