Boutique does not mean expensive
It means senior people and a light cost base. Our charge-out rates are around half those of comparable mid-tier firms, and our fees are fixed before we start.
Get a quote in 48 hoursWhat you are not paying for
Most audit fees carry a great deal that has nothing to do with your audit. We have deliberately built a firm without those costs, which is the entire reason the numbers below work.
A tower block
We do not run prestige city-centre floorspace and recover the rent through your fee. Our people work where the work is.
A graduate intake
No annual cohort learning on your file at your expense, and no one relearning your business every September when the team rotates.
A national marketing budget
No sponsorships, no advertising campaigns, no brand spend. Our work comes from people who have worked with us before.
Network fees
We are independent. There is no international network levy sitting inside your fee, and no obligation to route your work through a member firm.
Corporate entertaining
Client dinners, boxes at events and the annual party are all real costs somewhere. They are not in your fee here.
A layer of management
No regional managing partner, no practice leadership, no internal reporting line to fund. The team on your engagement is the team you are paying for.
How that compares
A like-for-like scope, priced two ways.
| Criterion | Black Maple | Typical mid-tier firm |
|---|---|---|
| Charge-out rates | Around half those of a comparable mid-tier firm. | Set to recover a large fixed cost base. |
| Typical total fee | Usually 15% to 30% lower, after allowing for a more senior team. | The benchmark. |
| Who does the work | Qualified, experienced professionals, directed by the partner who scopes, reviews and signs the file. | A pyramid, with trainees on much of the fieldwork. |
| Fee certainty | Fixed before we start. Scope changes discussed before the work, not after. | Estimates, with overrun invoices common. |
| Questions during the year | Included. We would rather you called. | Often chargeable. |
| Quality framework | ISQM 1 and CSQM 1, same standards, independently regulated. | The same. |
Two quotes are only comparable if the scope behind them is. Before you compare numbers, ask what materiality has been assumed, who will actually be doing the work, and what triggers an additional invoice. On a like-for-like scope we are consistently the lower number, and ours is the one that does not move.
What drives your fee
We budget every engagement individually. These are the things that move the number, and several are within your control.
- 01
Size and complexity
Turnover, transaction volume, number of entities, and whether the group crosses jurisdictions or reporting frameworks.
- 02
Risk areas
Revenue recognition on longer contracts, significant estimates, inventory, related party arrangements, going concern under covenant pressure. Effort concentrates where misstatement is most likely.
- 03
The state of your records
The single biggest variable you control. Reconciliations done and reviewed monthly, a trial balance that agrees, and prior year adjustments actually posted all reduce the work materially.
- 04
How quickly you answer
A query answered in a day costs less than the same query answered in a week, because the work continues instead of stopping and restarting.
- 05
Timing
A December year end competes with every other December year end. Where your timetable has flexibility, quieter periods cost less.
Common questions on fees
- What does an audit cost?
- Every fee is based on a budget we prepare after an initial conversation, once we understand your business, so it reflects your circumstances rather than a standard price list. Our charge-out rates are around half those of comparable mid-tier firms. Because we staff engagements with experienced senior people rather than a pyramid of juniors, some of that saving is offset by the seniority of the team, so in practice you can typically expect a total fee in the region of 15% to 30% below a mid-tier firm.
- Why are your fees lower?
- Our charge-out rates are around half those of comparable mid-tier firms, and we carry none of the overhead of a large-firm network. Engagements are lean and senior-led rather than run through a large pyramid of junior staff, so the work is done efficiently by people who already know your file.
- Do you work to a fixed fee?
- Yes. We agree a fixed fee up front based on the budgeted scope, so you are not exposed to the open-ended overrun invoices that are common elsewhere. If something changes the scope, we speak to you before doing the work, not after.
- Does a lower fee mean a lower-quality audit?
- No. A lower fee reflects a leaner model and lower rates, not corners cut. Every engagement is partner-led and quality-reviewed to the same ISQM 1 and CSQM 1 standards as a large firm, using a recognised audit methodology supported by our own curated audit tools.
- What would make the fee go up?
- A change in scope, not a change in our appetite. Common causes are records that are less complete than expected, a group structure or transaction we were not told about, or a deadline moved forward. In each case we tell you before we do the work and agree the revised position with you.
- Are questions during the year chargeable?
- Ordinary questions are not. We would rather you called us in March than discovered a problem in the audit. If something turns into a defined piece of work, a technical paper or a transaction, we agree that separately before starting.
Work with us
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