Within weeks, Cendant Corp. will be announcing its revised and corrected financials for fiscal 1998, and the real estate giant is hoping with that last matter behind them, they can make a fresh start.

Parsippany, N.J.-based Cendant's troubles -- which were accounting fraud allegations directed at Cendant's progenitor, CUC International -- arose last spring, and with the ouster of its chairman and eight Cendant directors in August, Cendant is looking to the future.

Part of that future, said Richard Smith, chairman and CEO of Cendant Real Estate, is growing the firm's existing business by selling the companies brand franchises -- Coldwell Banker, ERA and Century 21 -- to smaller, independent brokers.

"The prospects here are good," Smith said in a recent interview with Real Times. "About 60% of the nation's brokerages are not affiliated with a franchise."

But that doesn't mean Cendant -- through its joint venture business called NRT Inc. -- is done with acquisitions.

"We're looking for continued growth in that area, through major acquisitions in the top 25 metro areas," said Ted Deutsch, public affairs director for Cendant Real Estate.

There are more than 12,000 brokerage offices worldwide representing 200,000 agents, all of which fall under the Cendant banner as Coldwell Banker, ERA or Century 21.

Of those, Deutsch explained, 600 are directly owned and operated by NRT Inc., a wholly separate company which Cendant and Apollo Management own. NRT (nee National Realty Trust, now a for-profit incorporated entity) was formed to buy the larger, regional independent brokerages.

The other 11,400 offices are franchisees -- smaller, independent broker offices that paid for an ERA, Century 21 or Coldwell Banker franchise, Deutsch explained.

The three brands -- Coldwell Banker, ERA or Century 21 -- are the world's first, second and fourth largest brokerage concerns. Cendant Real Estate also has an employee relocation service that commands a 52% market share, and a fast-growing mortgage company.

These businesses will feed off each other, Smith explained, which is where Cendant expects much of its internal growth.

But another avenue for internal growth Cendant is following is by expanding the role and scope of what a REALTOR^® does within its franchise offices.

"We are trying to get the industry to embrace the full-service Realtor concept," Deutsch said. "This is where the Realtor is at the heart of the transaction, not just to facilitate the purchase or sale of a house."

Deutsch said Cendant is developing a "preferred alliance" system, where Realtors will be able to access ancillary services for new homeowners at discounted prices.

"Say someone wants mortgage insurance, or satellite TV, or security," Deutsch said. "It's both beneficial to Realtors and profitable to our partners. Under this system, we endorse a company's service and help market it for our franchisees.

"That way, for instance, after a sale is completed the Realtor could then talk to the customer about (a security service) and offer them the system installation for free and service at a discount price," he said. "Or say, reduced cable rates. We have the program working now in some places, but we are still working on it."

Cendant was born in December 1997 with the merger of membership-based discount services provider CUC and hospitality franchiser HFS, Deutsch said. Aside from real estate, Cendant is also involved in travel and hospitality, owning the franchise for Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada and Avis, as well as interests in vehicle fleet management, financial services, and entertainment and educational software, which it is rumored to be interested in selling.

The company's name was derived from "ascendant" but it was anything but at first. The merger was marred by the discovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in "fictitious revenues" and other accounting problems at CUC, which put a big damper on the honeymoon.

Cendant is the world's largest hotel franchiser, and offers shopping club cards that provide discounts on consumer goods and services to more than 66 million members, according to Hoover's Inc., a public company research firm. Cendant the world's No. 1 time-share exchange service, Resort Condominiums International.

CUC got its start in 1973 when a group led by Walter Forbes, the now ousted chairman of Cendant, envisioning a computer-based home-shopping network, founded Comp-U-Card America. During the 1980s the firm became a discount direct marketer and catalog-based shopping club. With no inventory and low overhead, CUC could sell merchandise at 6%-8% over wholesale prices. Between 1989 and 1993 it signed up 7.6 million members.

In 1996 CUC acquired Advance Ross Corp., a processor of value-added tax refunds to travelers in Europe; Rent Net, a national apartment rental Internet service; entertainment software publishers Davidson & Associates and Sierra On-Line; and the Ideon Group, a credit-card enhancement service. In 1997 CUC bought software maker Knowledge Adventure.

HFS's growth was similarly explosive. During the 1980s Henry Silverman helped transform Days Inn from a small chain of roadside hotels into the world's No. 3 hotel franchiser, Deutsch said.

HFS entered the residential real estate market with the purchase of Century 21 in 1995 and ERA the following year. Also in 1996 HFS bought real estate firm Coldwell Banker, time-share operator Resort Condominiums International, and car rental firm Avis.

CUC and HFS completed their $14.1 billion marriage in December 1997.

Despite all the turmoil, Cendant's mid-year financials look strong. For the first half of calendar 1998, Cendant had gross revenues of $2.82 billion, compared to $.19 billion for the same period last year. Net income for the first half of 1998 was $896 million, up from $588.5 million in 1997.

Cendant's real estate division has revenues of $634 million for the first half of 1998, up 45% over the previous half year's total of $437 million. Net income for the real estate division was $300.5 million, up 79% from first half 1997's $167.8 million.