REPORT OF INDEPENDENT CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
ON INTERNAL CONTROL
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
COMMONWEALTH INTERNATIONAL SERIES TRUST
HOUSTON, TEXAS
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements of Commonwealth
International Series Trust (comprising, respectively, the Commonwealth Japan
Fund and the Commonwealth New Zealand Fund) for the year ended October 31, 2000,
we considered its internal control, including control activities for
safeguarding securities, in order to determine our auditing procedures for the
purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial statements and to comply with
the requirements of Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on internal control.
The management of the Trust is responsible for establishing and maintaining
internal control. In fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and judgments by
management are required to assess the expected benefits and related costs of
controls. Generally, controls that are relevant to an audit pertain to the
entity's objective or preparing financial statements for external purposes that
are fairly presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting
principles. Those controls include the safeguarding of assets against
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal control, error or fraud may occur
and not be detected. Also, projection of any evaluation of internal control to
future periods is subject to the risk that it may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions or that the effectiveness of the design and operation may
deteriorate.
Our consideration of internal control would not necessarily disclose all matters
in the internal control that might be material weaknesses under standards
established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. A
material weakness is a condition in which the design or operation of one or more
of the internal control components does not reduce to a relatively low level the
risk that misstatements caused by error or fraud in amounts that would be
material in relation to the financial statements being audited may occur and not
be detected within a timely period by employees in the normal course of
performing their assigned functions. However, we noted no matters involving
internal control, including controls for safeguarding securities, that we
consider to be material weaknesses, as defined above, as of October 31, 2000.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of management, the
Board of Trustees of Commonwealth International Series Trust, and the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
BRIGGS, BUNTING & DOUGHERTY, LLP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 1, 2000
