Guidance on Submission of Notices to the Office of the Chief Accountant

Rule 10A-1 under the Exchange Act

The staff believes that, generally, the most timely receipt and attention to correspondence is facilitated through the use of electronic mail and prefers that notices to the Office of the Chief Accountant required by Rule 10A-1 be submitted via this means.¹ Notices that must be submitted to the Office of the Chief Accountant pursuant to Rule 10A-1 should be submitted via email to: 10Aletters@sec.gov.

SECPS Notification Letters

With regard to the report to the Office of the Chief Accountant required by Section 1000.08(m) of the SEC Practice Section (as adopted by the PCAOB²), Appendix I includes a note indicating that firms may satisfy the notification requirements confirming the cessation of the auditor-client relationship by faxing a copy to the Office of the Chief Accountant. The Office of the Chief Accountant has established a dedicated electronic mailbox to facilitate more timely and efficient submission of the required notification letter than facsimile or regular mail allow.

The Office of the Chief Accountant strongly encourages sending the SECPS report notification to SECPSletters@sec.gov. The staff will accept the date the email is received as the notification date.

The exact name of the registrant and the Commission File Number as it appears on the cover page of the Form 10-K should be used in the letter. If the cessation of the client-auditor relationship affects multiple SEC registrants (e.g., a parent with publicly-registered subsidiaries, series of mutual funds), the exact name of each registrant and each Commission File Number should be set forth in the letter.

¹ Rule 10A-1(a)(1) indicates that notices may be provided via “facsimile, telegraph, personal delivery, or any other means, provided it is received by the Office of the Chief Accountant within the required time period.” With regard to submission of notices required by Rule 10A-1 via email, the Commission has stated “Rule 10A-1 would permit use of such means of delivery.” Release No. 34-38387 (March 12, 1997).

² See PCAOB Rule 3400T, Interim Quality Control Standards.

http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/oca/10a1notices.htm