THE seminar on 'Reforming governance in the non-profit sector' on Nov 2 by the Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting Centre reiterated the difficulty in getting external auditors to price their audit fees with a heart.

They behave like insurers and bankers in rejecting 'high risk' clients. Certainly, it is tough for the external auditors to do the balancing act between risks and rewards in the audit of charities. Hence charities will face difficulty in the appointment of external auditors at an affordable fee. As every charity dollar counts, it will be helpful if the National Council on Social Service can subsidise the needy charities to pay for the increase in audit fee.

Lee Soh Hong