Apparently what the client deem to be material is the threshold we should use for our materiality. To defend them, I guess it's understandable that our materiality would be so low at times, and small amounts to them could potentially be big numbers to us. But that's why we're much better off working with clients who had public accounting experience, and thus know what materiality means. No wonder public accountants are in such demand these days.
Blogged about my life in the Big 4 and now about life in Private Accounting