SEC Company Response from WNC HOUSING TAX CREDIT FUND VI LP SERIES 10 (CIK 0001156815) — Jan 31, 2005
WNC HOUSING TAX CREDIT FUND VI LP SERIES 10 (CIK 0001156815)
Date: Jan. 31, 2005 · CIK: 0001156815 · Accession: 0001084067-05-000029
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 000-50837
Referenced dates: January 10, 2005, January 10, 2005
Show Raw Text
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.txt
<TEXT>
January 31, 2005
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
Mail Stop 0409
450 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re: WNC Housing Tax Credit Fund VI, L.P., Series 10
Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2004
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2004
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004
File No. 0-50837
Dear Mr. Jacobs:
The registrant is in receipt of your letter dated January 10, 2005
respecting the referenced matters. Responses to the comments included in your
letter are set forth below, numbered to correspond to the numbering system
utilized in your letter:
1. Please be advised that, in future filings, the registrant will use the
commission file number of 000-50837.
2. Please be advised that the registrant believes that the Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
relating to the short period ended March 31, 2003 is adequate under Item 303 of
Regulation S-K. as well as Interpretive Release 33-8350.
For example, Interpretive Release 33-8350, in part, provides that
"the purpose of MD&A is not complicated. It is to provide readers
information 'necessary to an understanding of [a company's]
financial condition, changes in financial condition and results
of operations.' The MD&A requirements are intended to satisfy
three principal objectives:
to provide a narrative explanation of a company's financial
statements that enables investors to see the company through the
eyes of management;
to enhance the overall financial disclosure and provide the
context within which financial information should be analyzed;
and
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 31, 2005
Page 2
to provide information about the quality of, and potential
variability of, a company's earnings and cash flow, so that
investors can ascertain the likelihood that past performance is
indicative of future performance.
Simply stated, there was no financial condition nor any results of
operations to report upon as of March 31, 2003. The registrant only commenced
its offering as of March 6, 2003, and as of March 31, 2003 had received
subscriptions to only 242 units, none of which can be accepted until
satisfaction of the minimum offering condition of 1,400 units is met. The
registrant had not satisfied its minimum offering amount as of March 31, 2003.
Management believes that full consideration was given to Item 303 of
Regulation S-K, as well as the Interpretive Release. The registrant's principal
business objective is to provide its investors with low- income housing tax
credits. Therefore, the registrant's principal business consists of investing as
a limited partner or non-managing limited liability member in Local Limited
Partnerships, each of which owns and operates a multi-family housing complex
that qualifies for the tax credits. The principal source of funds for such
investments is the sale of limited partnership units. Capital contributions
payable by the registrant to the Local Limited Partnerships, and all obligations
of the registrant, are funded with investor capital contributions.
The registrant has no obligations to any party until such time as the
minimum number of securities is sold.
Accordingly, please be advised that until such time as the registrant sold
the minimum number of securities, it had no liquidity, no capital resources, and
no results of operations.
Rather, as of March 31, 2003, the registrant had only its business plan,
which is discussed throughout the annual report and the registrant's financial
statements. Management believes that any additional disclosures respecting the
short-year ended March 31, 2003 would not improve the quality of the MD&A of the
registrant, but would merely be a recitation of the financial statements, and
accordingly, would not improve upon the transparency of the information
presented and enhance the overall disclosures of the filing.
3. With respect to this comment, the registrant has enclosed a copy of a
letter to the registrant from its auditor, Reznick Group, P.C. (formerly,
Reznick Fedder & Silverman, P.C.). In addition to the analysis of the issue
provided by the auditor, please be advised that the registrant believes it would
be cost prohibitive to have Reznick Group, P.C. perform the audits of all or a
significant number of the Local Limited Partnerships. Furthermore, the
registrant believes that its lack of control over the Local Limited Partnerships
and the geographic diversity of the Local Limited Partnerships make it
impractical for one Registered Public Accounting Firm to perform audits of all
or a significant number of the Local Limited Partnerships.
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 31, 2005
Page 3
January 26, 2005
Mr. Tom Riha, Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Melanie Wenk, Director of Partnership Accounting
WNC & Associates, Inc.
17782 Sky Park Circle
Irvine, CA 92614
RE: WNC Housing Tax Credit Fund VI, L.P., Series 10 (the "Partnership")
Audited Financial Statement For the Year Ending
March 31, 2004, Auditors Report dated June 23, 2004
Dear Mr. Riha and Ms. Wenk:
We have received your fax of the comment letter dated January 10, 2005 from
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant, Division of Corporate Finance, United
States Securities and Exchange Commission for the above referenced entity. At
your request, we are providing you with the following supplemental explanation
in response to Comment Number 3 of Mr. Jacobs letters in regards to factors that
assisted us, as independent auditors, in determining that we were the principal
auditor of the Partnership for the referenced year end.
In evaluating our position as principal auditor we gave consideration to AU
543. Specifically, the guidance in paragraph .02, the results of procedures
performed in accordance with paragraph .10, and the discussion of long term
investments in paragraph .14 which states, in part:
With respect to investments accounted for under the equity method, the
auditor who uses another auditor's report for the purpose of reporting on
the investor's equity in underlying net assets and its share of earnings or
losses and other transactions of the investee is in the position of a
principal auditor using the work and reports of other auditors.
Because of the significance of the procedures performed by us in connection
with the Partnership's investments in the limited partnerships at the
Partnership level, and our perspective, we believe that we held the position of
principal auditor in our report dated June 23, 2004.
Factors we considered in reaching this conclusion included the number of
procedures and extent of procedures we performed on the investment in limited
partnership accounts, the equity in the underlying net assets, the share of
earnings or losses, consolidation or combination, capitalization issues,
investment impairment, presentation, and footnote disclosures. Additionally, we
evaluated our level of participation as independent auditor in relation to the
potential concentration of the role of another independent auditor.
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 31, 2005
Page 4
In auditing the Partnerships' balances in investment in limited
partnerships ("Operating Partnerships"), our approach was comprised of
procedures performed independently by Reznick Group P.C. (formally Reznick
Fedder & Silverman, P.C.). These procedures included testing the Partnerships'
investment activity, analytical procedures, test for impairment, testing of
reconciliations of investment accounts to the capital of the operating
partnership, determining the appropriateness of the accounting procedures
applied by the Operating Partnership and the amount (percentage) of equity in
losses of limited partnership recorded by the Partnership. All the above
procedures were performed by Reznick Group without respect to whether the
operating partnership is separately audited. We then obtained the separate
audited financial statements of the Operating Partnerships to determine whether
the operations of the Operating Partnership are fairly stated and supplement the
audit procedures we have performed. Additionally, our planned audit procedures
for the year ended March 31, 2004 contemplated us performing additional auditing
procedures on the Operating Properties if specific issues are found to exist,
such as going concerns, impairment or where operating results are significantly
different than expected.
As you have been made aware, the SEC in general will challenge the role of
principal auditor where that auditor has audited or assumed responsibility for
less than 50% of the assets and revenues of the consolidated entity. In this
circumstance we audited or assumed responsibility for 76% of total assets and
45% of the net loss of the Partnership. We also believe that such traditional
measures for determining the principal auditor in an investor/investee
relationship are not always appropriate. In particular, as a limited partner
investor in the various underlying operating partnerships, our understanding,
based on our reading the various Operating Partnership limited partnership
agreements, and as you have asserted to us, as limited partner, due to the
Partnership's lack of control over the Operating Partnerships the Partnership is
unable to select the auditors of the Operating Partnerships on an annual basis.
As principal auditor, a portion of our analysis is to determine the extent
of audit coverage by us and other auditors of the Operating Partnerships
financial statements. Independent of that extent of coverage (whether by us or
other auditors), as is our professional obligation under AU 543 paragraphs .04
to .06, we evaluate and conclude as to which auditors we will refer to. We have
concluded that the coverage of audit of the operating partnerships was adequate
to allow us to address the accounting and financial reporting of the
Partnership, WNC Housing Tax Credit Fund VI, L.P., Series 10, and that we have
appropriately assessed and modified our report with respect to the other
auditors to which we made reference.
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 31, 2005
Page 5
We trust that we have completely addressed the comment raised in Mr. Jacobs
comment letter. If you should have any further questions or comments on this
matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
REZNICK GROUP, P.C.
/s/ Kirk T. Rogers
------------------
Kirk T. Rogers
Principal
4. Please be advised that, in future filings in the first paragraph under
the section entitled "Method of Accounting for Investments in Limited
Partnerships" and in the similar disclosure in footnote 2, the registrant will
revise its disclosures to consistently use the term "sum" rather than "product."
5. As disclosed in the first two sentences of the second paragraph under
the section entitled "Method of Accounting for Investments in Limited
Partnerships":
"Equity in losses of Local Limited Partnerships for each year ended March
31 have been recorded by the Partnership based on nine months of reported
results provided by the Local Limited Partnerships for each year ended
December 31 and on three months of results estimated by management of the
Partnership. Management's estimate for the three-month period is based on
either actual unaudited results reported by the Local Limited Partnerships
or historical trends in the operations of the Local Limited Partnerships."
The registrant believes that clarification to the foregoing can be achieved
in future filings by inserting the following sentence after the foregoing, and
before the balance of such paragraph:
"In subsequent annual financial statements, upon receiving the actual
annual results reported by the Local Limited Partnerships, management
reverses its prior estimate and records the actual results reported by the
Local Limited Partnerships."
6. Please be advised that, consistent with paragraph 29 of the
Interpretation, the registrant adopted FIN 46(R) effective for the year ended
March 31, 2004. Inadvertently, the registrant did not remove the word
"preliminarily" which had been included in filings prior to the registrant's
adoption of the Interpretation. Please be advised that the registrant will
remove the word "preliminarily" from all filings made subsequent hereto.
<PAGE>
Steven Jacobs, Senior Staff Accountant
January 31, 2005
Page 6
With its adoption of FIN 46(R), the registrant has concluded that each of
the Local Limited Partnerships is not a Variable Interest Entity (VIE).
Furthermore, the registrant has determined that the equity method is the
appropriate means of accounting for these limited partnership interests. An
explanation of these conclusions follows.
FIN 46(R). The registrant's assessment of the Local Limited Partnerships
---------
and the application of FIN 46(R) to such investments was based upon the three
criteria for assessing whether an entity is a VIE, as discussed in paragraphs
5.a, b, and c of the Interpretation.
a. Equity Investment at Risk. Section 5.a of FIN 46(R) is summarized as
---------------------------
follows: The total equity investment at risk is not sufficient to permit the
entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial
support provided by any parties, including equity holders.
Please be advised that each of the registrant's Local Limited Partnerships
was formed specifically for the purpose of developing and operating a single
residential rental property that is eligible for low income housing tax credits.
As required by the tax credit program, Local Limited Partnerships must be
designed to be self-sustaining and operationally viable from inception. Each of
the Local Limited Partnerships has a financial structure consisting of
non-recourse mortgage loan or loans, deferred development fees and owner equity.
Due to their deemed operational viability from inception, no additional sources
of capital were contemplated as necessary as the formation of these entities.
Additionally, the registrant evaluated the equity at risk for both the limited
and general equity interests in each Local Limited Partnership and has concluded
that the parties have sufficient equity at risk over the life of the Local
Limited Partnership to finance its activities.
b. Controlling Financial Intere