SEC Company Response from ENERGY FOCUS, (EFOI) — May 26, 2005
ENERGY FOCUS, INC/DE (EFOI) (CIK 0000924168)
Date: May 26, 2005 · CIK: 0000924168 · Accession: 0001144204-05-017280
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
Referenced dates: May 20, 2005
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CORRESP
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Fiberstars,
Inc.
44259
Nobel Drive
Fremont,
California 94538
Tel.
510.490.0719
May 26,
2005
VIA
EDGAR AND FACSIMILE
Division
of Corporation Finance
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
450 Fifth
Street, N.W.
Washington,
D.C. 20549-0306
Attn:
Dennis C. Hult
Re: Fiberstars,
Inc.
Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004
File No.
0-24230
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
On behalf
of Fiberstars, Inc. (the “Company”), this letter is in response to comments
received from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the “Commission”) in their letter dated May 20, 2005. The number of the
responses and headings set forth below correspond to the numbered comments and
headings on the letter from the Staff. A copy of the Staff’s letter is enclosed
for the convenience of the Staff.
Form
10-K for the period ending December 31, 2004
Item
9A Controls and Procedures - Page 24
1.
We
note your statement that the chief executive officer and the chief
financial officer have concluded that because of the material weakness in
your internal controls discussed in Item 9A(b), the company’s disclosure
controls and procedures “were not fully
effective” (emphasis added). Given the exceptions noted, it remains
unclear whether your chief executive officer and chief financial officer
have concluded that your disclosure controls and procedures are not
effective. In future filings, revise your disclosure to state, in clear
and unqualified language, the conclusions reached by your chief executive
officer and your chief financial officer on the effectiveness of your
disclosure controls and procedures. For example, if true, you can state
that given the identified matters, your disclosure controls and procedures
are not effective. You should not, however, state the conclusion in your
current disclosure, which appears to state that your disclosure controls
and procedure are not effective except to the extent they are effective
(we note the disclosure that “Our disclosure controls and procedures have
been designed to meet, and management
believes that they meet, reasonable
assurance standards, subject to the deficiencies and weaknesses identified
and discussed below.”). Refer to Item 307 of Regulation
S-K.
RESPONSE:
The Company has noted the Staff’s comment and will revise its disclosure in the
Company’s future filings.
Securities
and Exchange Commission
May 26,
2005
Page
2
Footnotes
to Financial Statements - Page F-8
Stock
-Based Compensation - Page F-12
2.
We
refer to your Current Report Form 8-K dated March 15, 2005, filed March
16, wherein you say that you adjusted the year end net loss of $213,000 as
earlier reported to a net loss of $341,000, indicating the amount was
adjusted to reflect a $120,000 non-cash charge for a change in accounting
for options granted to one of your directors. You also indicate that in
the prior earnings release “the options had been valued under the
intrinsic method, and are now
re-valued under the fair
value method”
(emphasis added). Supplementally, please tell us why the change in
accounting was appropriate and compliant with U.S. generally accepted
accounting principles. Also, confirm that the accuracy of your policy
footnote disclosures which indicate that you account for the stock
compensation plans under the recognition and measurement principles of APB
Opinion No. 25. We may have further comments after reviewing your
response.
RESPONSE:
Initially the Company believed that the options in question were granted for
work being performed by a director for services as a director. As such, as is
its policy for employee stock options, the Company determined to use the
intrinsic method of accounting. However, the grant was subject to finalizing the
terms of a consulting agreement with the director, terms which also involved
cash compensation. When the terms of the agreement were finalized, the options
were awarded as fully vested. Prior to that time, the draft option award was
based of a four-year vesting period. The Company believed that the options had
been earned while the individual was performing director duties. However, upon
further review with the Company’s auditors during the audit of results for the
year ended December 31, 2004, it was determined that 1) the options grant was
included as part of the consulting agreement and 2) although fully vested when
awarded, the work performed to earn the options could be construed as being
outside the scope of normal director duties and therefore more appropriate for
consulting work. Based on this fact pattern, we concluded that these options
should be accounted for as non-employee stock options. We revised the accounting
for the options and performed a valuation based on the fair value method, which
is to be used for options granted to non-employees. The Company believes that
the method of accounting used conforms to the accounting methods for
non-employee grants under the recognition and measurement principles of SFAS No.
123 and related interpretations. In the future, the Company will confirm the
proper application of the relevant accounting principles with its accounting
experts at the time the terms of a transaction are completed, rather than only
at the inception of the transaction.
Our
footnote disclosure for Stock-Based Compensation states that the “the
Company accounts for those plans under the recognition and measurement
principles of APB Opinion No. 25, Accounting
for Stock Issued to Employees, and
related Interpretations.” The
Company confirms that this statement accurately discloses our accounting methods
for employee stock-based compensation. The Company accounts for equity
instruments issued to non-employees in accordance with the provisions of SFAS
No. 123 and related interpretations.
Securities
and Exchange Commission
May 26,
2005
Page
3
3.
To
this regard, we do not believe it is sufficient to explain your accounting
policy by referring only to the authoritative announcement. The average
reader will not know the accounting as prescribed by APB Opinion No. 25.
In future filings please expand your policy note disclosures to explain in
detail your accounting policy for equity instruments issuances to both
employees and non-employees.
RESPONSE:
The Company has noted the Staff’s comment and will expand its policy note
disclosures in the Company’s future filings.
The
Company acknowledges that:
•
it
is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the
filings;
•
Staff
comments or changes to disclosure in response to Staff comments in the
filings reviewed by the Staff do not foreclose the Commission from taking
any action with respect to the filing; and
•
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.
* *
*
Questions
or comments regarding any matters with respect to these responses may be
directed to the undersigned at (510) 490-0719 Ext. 124 or David Ruckert,
the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, at (510) 490-0719 Ext.
112.
Sincerely,
/s/
Robert A. Connors
Robert A.
Connors
Chief
Financial Officer
cc: David
Ruckert
Jay Webb,
Reviewing Accountant
Ralph
Nefdt
Richard
S. Bebb