A great source for BER discussions and issues is the BER thread on www.boards.ie, the thread is 36 pages long and growing but covers all aspects of the BER.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055229508
With reference to the cost of a BER assessment there is some interesting analysis and figure in this thread such as 300 Euros for a standard assessment (Aug 07). Now the SEI are saying (Nov 08) that it will cost 500 Euros.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=56438720&highlight=semi#post56438719