REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
FIRM
To the Trustees and
Shareholders of Eaton Vance Short Duration Diversified Income Fund:
In planning and
performing our audit of the financial statements of Eaton Vance Short Duration
Diversified Income Fund (the "Fund") as of and for the year ended
October 31, 2023, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), we considered the Fund's
internal control over financial reporting, including controls over safeguarding
securities, as a basis for designing our auditing procedures for the purpose of
expressing our opinion on the financial statements and to comply with the
requirements of Form N-CEN, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on
the effectiveness of the Fund's internal control over financial reporting.
Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
The management of the Fund is responsible for establishing and maintaining
effective internal control over financial reporting. In fulfilling this
responsibility, estimates and judgments by management are required to assess
the expected benefits and related costs of controls. A fund's internal control
over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. A fund's internal control over financial
reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the
maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly
reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the fund; (2)
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to
permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the fund
are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and
trustees of the fund; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention
or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of a fund's
assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control
over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also,
projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to
the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions,
or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may
deteriorate.
A deficiency in internal control over financial
reporting exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow
management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned
functions, to prevent or detect misstatements on a timely basis. A material
weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control
over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a
material misstatement of the fund's annual or interim financial statements will
not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Our consideration of the Fund's internal control over financial
reporting was for the limited purpose described in the first paragraph and
would not necessarily disclose all deficiencies in internal control that might
be material weaknesses under standards established by the PCAOB. However, we
noted no deficiencies in the Fund's internal control over financial reporting
and its operation, including controls for safeguarding securities, that we
consider to be a material weakness, as defined above, as of October 31, 2023.
This report is intended
solely for the information and use of management and the Trustees of Eaton
Vance Short Duration Diversified Income Fund and the Securities and Exchange
Commission and is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other
than these specified parties.
/s/ Deloitte &
Touche LLP
Boston, Massachusetts
December 19, 2023