BLUE RIDGE REAL ESTATE COMPANY
P.O. BOX 707
BLAKESLEE, PA 18610
December 14, 2012
Jonathan Wiggins, Staff Accountant
Division of Corporate Finance
Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
Re:
Blue Ridge Real Estate Company
Amendment No. 2 to Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2011
Filed November 28, 2012
File No. 000-02844
Dear Mr. Wiggins:
This letter is being submitted in response to the comment of the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) set forth in your letter, dated December 7, 2012, with respect to the above-referenced filing by Blue Ridge Real Estate Company (the Company).
For your convenience, we have set forth the comment in italicized typeface and included our response below the comment.
Amendment No. 2 to Form 10-K for Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2011
Managements Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, page 23
1.
We note your disclosure that you have identified a deficiency that constituted a material weakness in your internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) and your conclusion that your ICFR was effective as of October 31, 2011. Please tell us how you came to the conclusion that your original disclosure as to the effectiveness of your ICFR continues to be appropriate in light of the material weakness you have disclosed. Also, refer to your letter dated October 9, 2012, relating to the Form 8-K filed September 28, 2012, in which you indicated to us that you will include revised disclosures indicating managements conclusions that, due to the material weakness, the companys internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of October 31, 2011.
Company Response
As stated in our letter dated October 9, 2012, Management has reassessed its conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the Companies internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures in light of the error described in the Companies Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on September 28, 2012 (the Form 8-K).
We assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of October 31, 2011 using the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control Integrated Framework. Based on that assessment, we concluded that our internal controls over financial reporting were effective as of the Original Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2011. Subsequent to the evaluation made in connection with the original filing and in connection with the restatement, we re-evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Based upon that re-evaluation, we concluded that because of the material weaknesses in the internal control over financial reporting discussed in Part II, Item 9A Controls and Procedures, Section a), our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of October 31, 2011.
The omission of this disclosure in Amendment No. 2 to Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2011 in Part II, Item 9A Controls and Procedures, Section b) Managements Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting was an oversight. To correct this misstatement, we intend to file as soon as practicable an amended Form 10-K/A for the Fiscal Year Ended October 31, 2011 to restate Item 9A of Part II to include the revised disclosure indicating managements conclusions that, due to the material weakness, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of October 31, 2011.
Please do not hesitate to contact Cynthia A. Van Horn or me by telephone at 570-443-8433 if you should have any questions or comments with regard to these responses.
Sincerely,
/s/ Bruce Beaty
Bruce Beaty
Chief Executive Officer and President
BLUE RIDGE REAL ESTATE COMPANY
BIG BOULDER CORPORATION