Low Balling

With respect to quoting audit fees by an auditor, it refers to the practice of quoting a low fee (usually below total audit costs) on an initial audit/ assurance engagement, with the intention to make it up by increasing the fee or acquiring other business later in time. Low fees would create threats to professional competence and due care. This prompts an auditor to evaluate the significance of such threats by a number of means including: 1) communicating to the clients the terms of engagement, highlighting the basis for fee computation and the services covered by the engagement and 2) putting sufficient time and assigning qualified personnel, and so on.