The fees of a Chartered Accountant in Casablanca: how much does a service cost? 

 

LEC.ma reveals the points to pay attention to 

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If you are concerned by its services, you are surely wondering what are the prices or fees charged by a Chartered Accountant. You knocked on the good door ! In this article you will find all the information you will need.

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A chartered accountant is a liberal professional whose activity is governed by la law (15-89). To exercise his activity, a chartered accountant must beregistered on the board of the Order of Chartered Accountants. He is also subject to numerous obligations: compliance with ethical rules, continuing education, insurance, professional secrecy, transparency of the price of his services, etc.

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In 2019, the National Council of the Order issued a directive asking its members to apply a minimum rate of500 dirhams/excl. tax per hourforlegal and contractual audit assignments. That said, the application of a minimum rate for legal or contractual audit assignments has becomeobligatory since January 1, 2020. 

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L-Expert-comptable.mareveals some tips for choosing your chartered accountant:  

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What are the fees of an accountant based on?

 

An accountant is paid by way of fees. The price he offers you must: 

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• Be consistent with the work you entrust to him

• Take into account its skills, its reputation, its specialization and its location

 

The price of an accountant mainly dependsof 4 factors:

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• The volume of "diligence", i.e. documents, invoices or other, to be processed as part of the mission,

• The technicality of the file, according to the types of operations carried out by the company, with international transactions for example, or complex capital structures,

• The mission expenses to be incurred, in particular travel, in distance and duration,

• Notoriety because of its seniority, its importance or the positive appreciation its customers have. 

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Rates and fees of a chartered accountant: how are they calculated?

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The Chartered Accountant generally opts for one or more of the following methods to calculate his fees:

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• Flat rate or proportional:this method of payment is the most used

• Time spent and at hourly rates: this type of remuneration is calculated according to the time that the accountant will spend on the mission. It mainly concerns specific and short-term missions, such as consultancy or expert missions.

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Be aware that the cost of a chartered accountant's service can be established by combining several methods of remuneration, depending on the mission requested. You can check the calculation method used by your accountant by asking him for a detailed quote.

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Also remember that the prices are generally indicated excluding taxes. It will therefore be necessary to add the VAT, which is 20%.

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Fees and engagement letter of a chartered accountant: what should you pay attention to?

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In order to avoid any misunderstanding between the chartered accountant and his client, the amount of the fees or the principle of their calculation (lump sum or proportional to the time spent and the hourly rates) must be contained inthe mission statement.

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The engagement letter contains in particular the fees to be paid to your chartered accountant in return for the tasks carried out by the latter. The fees can be revised upwards or downwards depending on the work carried out and the additional work that you can request from your accountant.

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The accountant canraise their feesin the following cases:

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• The starting mission has been changed:certain changes have been made to the project. The cost of the changes will then be taken into account in the accountant's fees.

• The scope of the mission has been expanded (additional work):if new tasks, which were not provided for in the engagement letter, are added, the chartered accountant's fees will take these changes into account.

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You must then studythe terms and conditions for the revaluation of fees(frequency, reference index, calculation methods, etc.).​