FOR FUNDS AT A FISCAL YEAR END
On May 19, 1999, the Fund's Board of Directors, upon the recommendation
of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, requested and
subsequently accepted the resignation of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the
Fund's independent auditors. Deloitte & Touche's reports on the Fund's
financial statements for the fiscal years ended August 31, 1999 and
August 31, 1998, contained no adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion
nor were they qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or
accounting principles. During the Fund's fiscal years ended August 31,
1999 and August 31, 1998, (i) there were no disagreements with Deloitte
& Touche on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial
statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which
disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Deloitte & Touche,
would have caused it to make reference to the subject matter of the
disagreements in connection with its reports on the financial statements
for such years, and (ii) there were no reportable events of the kind in
Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended.
The Fund by action of its Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of
the Audit Committee of the Board, has engaged Ernst & Young LLP as the
independent auditors to audit the Fund's financial statements for the
fiscal year ended August 31, 2000. During the Fund's fiscal years ended
August 31, 1999 and August 31, 1998, neither the Fund nor anyone on its
behalf has consulted Ernst & Young on items which (i) concerned the
application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either
completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be
rendered on the Fund's financial statements or (ii) concerned the
subject of a disagreement (as defined in paragraph (a)(1)(iv) of Item
304 of Regulation S-K) of reportable events (as described in paragraph
(a)(1)(v) of said Item 304).
