AI assistant
AMDOCS LTD — Regulatory Filings 2011
Mar 22, 2011
30672_rns_2011-03-22_7112041d-1a7e-45b9-9d5b-007e117c6bb4.zip
Regulatory Filings
Open in viewerOpens in your device viewer
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm corresp PAGEBREAK
March 22, 2011
By EDGAR Submission
Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance 100 F Street, NE Mail Stop 4561 Washington, DC 20549 Attention: Jaime John
Re: Amdocs Limited Form 20-F for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2010 Filed December 7, 2010 File No. 001-14840
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter is in response to the letter to Amdocs Limited (Amdocs or the Company) dated March 8, 2011 from Patrick Gilmore, Accounting Branch Chief, on behalf of the Staff (the Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission), to Thomas G. OBrien, Treasurer and Secretary of Amdocs. The comment letter relates to the Companys Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010 filed December 7, 2010, as amended (the Form 20-F).
For convenient reference, we have included below each of the Staffs comments set forth in the comment letter and have keyed the Companys responses to the numbering of the comments and the headings used in the comment letter. All of the responses are based on information provided to us by representatives of the Company.
As noted in our letter dated February 9, 2011, the Company has not prepared an amendment to the Form 20-F because the Company believes that any amendments filed to address the Staffs comments relate to matters that are not individually or in the aggregate material to investors and that any such amendment would, on the whole, be more confusing than useful to investors and others.
General
- We note that your response includes the representations requested at the end of our prior comment letter but that your response was signed by Mr. Robert Schwed, your outside counsel, and was issued on the outside counsel letterhead. Please confirm that Mr. Schwed is authorized to act as your agent.
Folio /Folio
PAGEBREAK
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission March 22, 2011 Page 2
Response: The Company had authorized Mr. Schwed to act as its agent in this regard; however, in response to the Staffs comment, the Company has made the requested representations under its own letterhead under separate cover.
Form 20-F for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2010
Item 8. Financial Information
Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Revenue Recognition, page F-11
- We note that your response to prior to comment 2 indicates that you determine VSOE of fair value when a substantial majority of standalone deals in the study fall within a range of plus or minus 15% from the midpoint. Please tell us what percentage you believe represents a substantial majority and why you believe that percentage constitutes a range that is sufficiently clustered to support a conclusion that VSOE of fair value exists. Additionally, describe how you determine VSOE of fair value for arrangement that are outside of the range.
| Response: |
|---|
| In calculating VSOE for these services, the Company believes that prices are |
| sufficiently clustered within an appropriate range by requiring that a high |
| percentage of all relevant standalone sales fall within a reasonable |
| percentage (plus or minus) of the established VSOE value. The Companys |
| minimum threshold requirement is that at least 70% of all the standalone |
| sales in the period fall within a range of plus or minus 15% of the |
| established VSOE value. |
| The percentages of standalone sales for on-going support and maintenance |
| services that have fallen into the 15% range have been fairly constant over |
| the last several years. In fiscal 2010 and 2009, 71%-75% and 70%-83%, |
| respectively, of the standalone sales of the various strata of on-going |
| support and maintenance services have been within the specified range of |
| the VSOE value. |
| The Company notes that substantial majority is not a defined phrase in the |
| authoritative accounting guidance, and therefore the determination of VSOE |
| of fair value requires the application of reasonable judgment in |
Folio /Folio
PAGEBREAK
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission March 22, 2011 Page 3
| deciding upon the appropriate percentage of standalone sales that falls within a narrow range of pricing. The Company notes that some common interpretations of substantial majority range from two-thirds (66%) to as high as 80% of a population. Therefore the Company believes that, for purposes of establishing VSOE of fair value, it is reasonable to conclude that a substantial majority falls within this percentage range. In making this determination, the Company considered all the relevant facts and circumstances surrounding these transactions, including but not limited to, the pricing strategies for each element, the trend and consistency in pricing for each element, and the reasons for any prices outside the Companys historical range of VSOE for a particular element. Based on these factors and giving due consideration to common interpretations of substantial majority, the Company concluded that, at a minimum, 70% of its standalone sales in the period must fall within a range of plus or minus 15% of the established VSOE value in order to constitute a range that is sufficiently clustered to support a conclusion that VSOE of
| fair value exists. |
|---|
| The Companys VSOE rates are used to allocate revenue consideration to the |
| identified deliverables in multiple element arrangements. In instances |
| where the amounts stated in a particular contract are not within the VSOE |
| range, the Company has used the midpoint within the VSOE range to allocate |
| revenue between the identified deliverables specified in the contract. The |
| Company notes that arrangements in which the stated contract price of an |
| undelivered element was higher than the VSOE range have been rare and the |
| use of the midpoint has not resulted in any significant differences in the |
| allocation of revenue to the various identified elements within these |
| arrangements or the timing of revenue recognition. |
| The application of the Companys VSOE methodology and the VSOE rates that |
| were established under such methodology remain consistent from period to |
| period. |
Folio /Folio
PAGEBREAK
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission March 22, 2011 Page 4
If you require additional information, please telephone either the undersigned at the telephone number indicated above or Jason L. Kropp of this firm at (617) 526-6421.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Robert A. Schwed
Robert A. Schwed
Folio /Folio