Do we need an audit to renew our license?

In a free zone, very probably yes. Many free zones ask for audited accounts every year, some within 6 months of year end and others at license renewal. On the mainland the license renewal does not ask for it, but Article 27 of the Commercial Companies Law does: every LLC and joint stock company must have its accounts audited every year, whatever its size. Send us your license and we will check your zone's rule.

What documents do you need from us?

Bank statements for the year, the sales and purchase ledgers, invoices and contracts for the larger items, payroll, the fixed asset register, the license and memorandum, last year's audited accounts if any, and the VAT and corporate tax filings. If the books are in Zoho, QuickBooks or Odoo, read access replaces most of that list.

Can you audit us if you also keep our books?

Not without separating the work. Independence rules do not allow a firm to audit statements it prepared itself. Where a client wants both, the two jobs are done by different people under different engagement letters, and in some cases one of them should go to another firm. Ask before the year starts and we will tell you which we can do.

How long does it take?

Typically 6 to 8 weeks from closed books to the signed report, for a small company with tidy records. The biggest delay is always documents, so the request list goes out in week one.

A fixed fee, quoted within one business day of seeing your license and last year's accounts, before any work starts.

Audit firms in Dubai | External audit services under IFRS

Who must be audited

Two sets of rules decide it: the corporate tax law and your free zone.

Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025 replaced Decision 82 of 2023. For tax periods from 1 January 2025 it names three kinds of taxable person who must keep audited financial statements. Everyone else is audited by choice, or because a zone, a bank or an investor asks.

Trigger	Who it catches	Source
AED 50 million	Any taxable person, other than a tax group, with revenue above AED 50 million in the tax period	Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025
Free zone	Every qualifying free zone person, regardless of revenue, to keep the 0% rate on qualifying income	Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025, Decree-Law 47 of 2022
Tax group	Every tax group, on audited special purpose statements in the form the Authority specifies	Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025
License renewal	Many free zones ask for audited accounts every year, some within 6 months of year end and others at renewal	Each zone's own rules

A tax group is the odd one out. It is not asked for ordinary consolidated group accounts. It prepares a separate audited set, called special purpose financial statements, in the form the Federal Tax Authority specifies.

The free zone rule is the one that surprises people. Most free zones ask for audited accounts at renewal, and a few only above a revenue threshold. Each zone sets its own deadline, and they change. Check your zone's rule.

Audits are carried out under International Standards on Auditing. The statements are prepared under IFRS, or under IFRS for SMEs where revenue is AED 50 million or less, as Ministerial Decision 114 of 2023 allows.

What we deliver

Six things, in this order.

Engagement letter. The scope, the fee, the dates and what we need from you, signed by both sides before any work starts.
Planning. We read the prior year and decide where the risk sits before we test anything.
Testing. Bank confirmations, samples of sales and purchases, stock counts where there is stock, the year-end adjustments.
IFRS financial statements. Balance sheet, income statement, cash flows and notes, to the standard your zone or the FTA expects.
The signed opinion. The auditor's report, signed by the firm under its Ministry of Economy and Tourism registration.
The management letter. What we found in your controls and records, in plain English.

An audit is a set of tests on the records behind the numbers, and a written opinion on whether the statements show a true and fair view. The fee covers all six.

The timeline

From year end to the signed report.

Year endBooks closedBank statements, sales and purchase ledgers, payroll and the fixed asset register ready
Week 1Engagement letter signed, planning doneDocument request list sent the same week
Weeks 2 to 4Fieldwork and testingBank confirmations out, samples selected, questions sent as they arise
Weeks 5 to 6Draft financial statementsAdjustments agreed with you, notes completed
Weeks 6 to 8Signed report and management letterFiled with your zone or attached to the corporate tax return

For a small company with tidy books the run typically takes 6 to 8 weeks. Groups and first-time audits take longer, and the quote says so.

The signed opinion

What the last page says, and why it matters.

Every audit ends with one paragraph. An unmodified opinion says the statements give a true and fair view under IFRS. A qualified opinion says they do, except for one matter. An adverse opinion or a disclaimer says they cannot be relied on. Banks, free zones and the FTA read that paragraph first. Our job is to get you to an unmodified opinion honestly, which means telling you early when a balance cannot be supported.

Questions we are asked before every audit

01
Do we need an audit to renew our license?
In a free zone, very probably yes. Many free zones ask for audited accounts every year, some within 6 months of year end and others at license renewal. On the mainland the license renewal does not ask for it, but Article 27 of the Commercial Companies Law does: every LLC and joint stock company must have its accounts audited every year, whatever its size. Send us your license and we will check your zone's rule.
02
What documents do you need from us?
Bank statements for the year, the sales and purchase ledgers, invoices and contracts for the larger items, payroll, the fixed asset register, the license and memorandum, last year's audited accounts if any, and the VAT and corporate tax filings. If the books are in Zoho, QuickBooks or Odoo, read access replaces most of that list.
03
Can you audit us if you also keep our books?
Not without separating the work. Independence rules do not allow a firm to audit statements it prepared itself. Where a client wants both, the two jobs are done by different people under different engagement letters, and in some cases one of them should go to another firm. Ask before the year starts and we will tell you which we can do.
04
How long does it take?
Typically 6 to 8 weeks from closed books to the signed report, for a small company with tidy records. The biggest delay is always documents, so the request list goes out in week one.
05
What does it cost?
A fixed fee, quoted within one business day of seeing your license and last year's accounts, before any work starts.

Internal audit · UAE

A review of how the company runs, for the owner rather than the regulator.

An external audit tests the financial statements once a year. An internal audit tests the way the business works: the controls over cash, purchasing, payroll and stock, whether the company keeps to the rules it is bound by, and where money leaks. It is a separate engagement, done by different people under a different engagement letter.

Internal audit

The three reviews

OperationalWhether a process does what it should, at the cost it should.
ComplianceWhether the company keeps to the laws, license conditions and contracts it is bound by.
Internal controlWhether the controls actually stop the errors and losses they exist to stop.

Independence

Our name goes on the report. That is the whole point of it.

An audit is only worth what the reader believes about the auditor. So we do not sign statements we prepared, we do not sign what we have not tested, and the fee never depends on the opinion. If a balance cannot be supported you hear it in week three, with a way to fix it, not in a qualified paragraph on the last day.

How the firm is registered

Industries we serve

Eight sectors we audit, and what each audit looks at first.

Real estateProperty values, service charges and tenants' deposits.
PharmaceuticalStock by batch and expiry date, distributor rebates and returns.
TradingStock counts, landed costs and the VAT paid on imports.
Travel agenciesCustomer deposits, airline and hotel settlements, and whether the revenue is the commission or the whole ticket.
LogisticsFreight revenue cut-off, customs duties passed through, and the fleet and warehouse assets.
ContractingRevenue on contracts in progress, retentions and variations.
HealthcareInsurance receivables and rejected claims.
Professional servicesUnbilled work, retainers and partners' current accounts.

Service

Send us your license and last year's accounts. We will tell you if you need an audit, and what it costs.

Get a fixed quote

An audit firm in Dubai, for the audited accounts a bank, a free zone or the FTA asks for.