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To: SecularBull who wrote (9902)	2/11/2002 7:56:36 PM
From: Selectric II	Respond to of 10934

This isn't aimed at NTAP, but since you brought it up on this thread: Not only that, but it seems lots of companies have analyzed and parsed their charge-offs, giving each one a distinctive title so as to be able to call each a "one time charge," and take them on their own timing and terms. I'm not an accountant, but I think it goes something like this: Hypothetical: Take a company that averages $1 million of bad debt (deadbeat customers) a year, and which therefore should reserve $1 million each year for bad debt. Instead of having a reserve of $1 million for bad debt, we say we had "pro forma" profits of x (including the uncollectible $1 million), but a "one-time" charge of $1 million. It has nothing to do with reality, and misleads investors to believe the one-time charge isn't something that happens all the time, with the only difference being the name of the deadbeat customer. Any comments by a CPA? Again, I'm not accusing NTAP of this (I'm long) -- it just came up on this thread.