SEC Company Response from SOFTECH INC (CIK 0000354260) — Aug 1, 2005
SOFTECH INC (CIK 0000354260)
Date: Aug. 1, 2005 · CIK: 0000354260 · Accession: 0001188112-05-001382
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
Referenced dates: July 19, 2005
Show Raw Text
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.txt
<TEXT>
<PAGE>
[LOGO] SofTech
August 1, 2005
Craig Wilson
Senior Assistant Chief Accountant
United States
Securities and Exchange Commission
Room 4561
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: SEC Letter Dated July 19, 2005 of Comments on SofTech, Inc. Filings between
May 31, 2004 and April 12, 2005
Dear Mr. Wilson:
Thank you for your response dated July 19, 2005 to our correspondence. Below
please find our responses to each of the items keyed in such a manner to
correspond to the Staff's comments in that letter.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS, PAGE 24
1) After further consideration, we understand and agree with the Staff's
position that SFAS 142 does not preclude us from classifying the
amortization of capitalized software costs as a component of cost of
revenue and that SFAS 86 is applicable accounting literature for our
capitalized software costs. As such, the FASB Staff Implementation
Guide, SFAS 86, Question 17 does conclude that these amortization
costs should be classified as a component of cost of sales.
The Staff has directed us to revise our Form 10-K for fiscal 2004 to
reclassify these amortized costs previously classified as part of
operating expenses to cost of revenue. Further, the Staff has directed
us to revise our MD&A to address these reclassifications.
The Company's Form 10-K filing for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2005
is due August 29, 2005. The audit fieldwork has been completed and we
are currently drafting our Form 10-K filing. We expect to file this
report on or before the due date.
Given the fact that the current year filing is imminent, the filing is
expected to be timely, the agreed upon change relates to
reclassification of expenses and has no
<PAGE>
net impact on reported revenue, total expenses, net loss or cash flow,
we respectfully request that the SEC allow for this revision of prior
year reclassification of expenses to be dealt with as part of our Form
10-K filing for the current year. We will disclose in our notes to the
financial statements and in MD&A that reclassifications took place and
will detail the changes. All future quarterly filings will likewise
include the revised classification and a conforming reclassification
of the prior period.
It is management's strong belief that the effort and time required to
revise our Form 10-K filing for fiscal 2004 and have the audit
opinions and consents from our current and predecessor independent
accountants reissued would be an undue burden and an unjustified cost
given the very limited impact that the reclassification might have on
the theoretical investor.
FORM 8-K FILED AUGUST 31, 2004, OCTOBER 15, 2004, JANUARY 6, 2005 AND APRIL 12,
2005
2) We accept the SEC's position that our earnings press releases do not
adequately explain management's use of non-GAAP measures in our
analysis of results and we accept that the information is not self
evident. We propose the following disclosure in our future earnings
press releases.
"The Company's revenue is derived almost entirely from technology
acquisitions completed between 1997 and 2002. As a result, management
believes the Company's financial profile is very unique, at least in
the industry in which it operates. Approximately 80% of its assets are
composed of intangible assets related to these acquisitions. The
amortization of these intangible assets is approximately 18% of its
total expenses and 21% of its revenue. Further, the periods over which
these intangible costs are expensed are highly judgmental and not
subject to adjustment in the event whereby a shorter period of
amortization was estimated at the acquisition date than was justified
by actual experience.
It is management's opinion that comparing results of operations from
period to period and to other companies in our industry absent these
non-cash expenses related to acquisitions is a more meaningful measure
of our performance given the Company's unique financial profile
detailed above. It is also management's belief that this Non-GAAP
measure of performance is one of the most critical measures of Company
valuation for investors. Lastly, this measure of performance has been,
and is expected to continue to be, a significant component of the
incentive compensation plan for the Company's President."
3) In our press releases we consistently provided two Non-GAAP
adjustments to our GAAP net loss. We have also consistently provided a
reconciling table that starts with the GAAP net loss subtracts
non-cash amortization related to acquisitions to derive a result
identified as "Pro Forma Net Income". We provide further information
by adding non-cash depreciation and subtracting capital expenditures
to derive a sum identified as "Free Cash Flow". In the past, it was
management's belief that the additional information regarding
depreciation and capital expenditures
<PAGE>
was important to investors in that our depreciation expense was
significantly higher than our required capital investment in new
equipment. This was due to the fact that our facilities were
dramatically consolidated subsequent to the end of fiscal year 2001
and the replacement cost of computer equipment had decreased
significantly. Given that "Free Cash Flow" is not materially different
now than the measure previously identified as "Pro Forma Net Income",
we propose deleting the reference to Free Cash Flow in all future
earnings press releases.
4) The SEC has concluded that the use of the term "pro forma" to describe
our Non-GAAP measure of performance discussed above in response to
item 2 is not appropriate. The SEC has directed that in future
earnings releases we instead identify such measures as "non-GAAP
financial measures". We agree to revise future disclosures
accordingly.
I can be reached at (781)890-8373 or by e-mail at JMULLANEY@SOFTECH.COM if you
require any additional information or would like to discuss further.
We acknowledge that the Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of
the disclosure in the filing. We understand that Staff comments or changes to
disclosure in response to Staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from
taking any action with respect to the filing. The Company may not assert Staff
comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any
person under the federal securities laws of the United States.
Sincerely,
/s/Joseph P. Mullaney
Joseph P. Mullaney
President
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>