Audit and Assurance Services in Dubai and across the UAE

Aabi Chartered Accountants is the audit arm of our group and a UAE registered audit firm. We audit free zone and mainland companies across the Emirates, under International Standards on Auditing, with financial statements prepared under IFRS or IFRS for SMEs. Most of our clients come to us because a licensing authority, a bank or the Federal Tax Authority has asked for accounts that will stand up to scrutiny.

When your company needs an audit

An audit is not optional for most UAE companies, but the trigger differs depending on where you are licensed and what you are trying to do.

• Free zone licence renewal. Most major free zones require audited financial statements to be filed each year, and will hold the renewal until they are submitted.
• Qualifying Free Zone Person status. A free zone company relying on the 0% Corporate Tax rate must have audited financial statements. Without them the status is not available, whatever else is in place.
• Corporate Tax. The return is built from your financial statements, and the FTA can review the records behind every figure.
• Bank facilities. Banks ask for audited accounts before approving or renewing a facility, and most will only accept a report from an auditor on their approved list.
• Shareholders, investors and disputes. Share transfers, buyouts, due diligence and shareholder disagreements all tend to start with an independent set of numbers.
• Group reporting. A UAE subsidiary usually has to report to a parent on a fixed timetable, in the group’s format.

What we audit

• Statutory audits for free zone and mainland companies
• Free zone audits formatted for the authority’s submission requirements
• Consolidated accounts for groups with several UAE entities
• Agreed-upon procedures where a bank or shareholder needs a specific area examined
• Stock counts and fixed asset verification
• Internal audit and internal control reviews
• Liquidation audits, where a closing set of accounts is required for deregistration

What we need from you

The single biggest cause of a delayed audit is an incomplete starting position. Before fieldwork we need:

• Trial balance and general ledger for the period
• Bank statements for every account, covering the full year
• Sales and purchase invoices, and the supporting contracts for material items
• Fixed asset register and depreciation workings
• Inventory listing at the year-end date, if you hold stock
• Payroll records and WPS reports
• VAT returns filed during the year and the workings behind them
• Trade licence, memorandum of association and lease agreement
• Details of related-party balances and transactions

If your books are behind or were never properly maintained, we handle the catch-up work first through our accounting and bookkeeping team, so the audit starts from a reconciled position rather than stalling halfway through.

Free zone audit requirements

Requirements vary by authority. We are familiar with the submission rules and formats for the major zones, including DMCC, DAFZA, JAFZA, Dubai Silicon Oasis, DIFC, Dubai Airport Free Zone, RAKEZ, Meydan, IFZA, SHAMS and Ajman. Some zones require the audited accounts within a set period after your financial year end and will block the licence renewal until they are received. See our free zone auditors page for the detail by zone.

Our approvals

Aabi Chartered Accountants is registered and approved with the Department of Economic Development, listed with most UAE banks as an approved audit firm, and a member firm of an international accounting and audit network. That listing matters in practice: a bank will often reject an audit report from a firm that is not on its panel, regardless of the quality of the work.

Fees

We quote a fixed fee after a short review of your trial balance and trade licence. The fee depends on transaction volume, the number of bank accounts, whether inventory and payroll are involved, and whether the prior year was audited. There are no hourly surprises once the engagement letter is signed.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a UAE audit take?

Two to four weeks from the point we receive a complete trial balance and the supporting documents. What extends it is almost always missing records rather than the audit work itself.

Can you audit a company whose books are not up to date?

Yes. We bring the records up to date first, reconcile the balances and then audit from a clean position. This is a large part of what we do.

Do you audit dormant companies?

Yes. A dormant company still needs audited accounts where its free zone or its bank requires them, and the engagement is correspondingly smaller in scope and fee.

Will the audit report be accepted by my bank?

We are listed with most UAE banks as an approved audit firm. Tell us which bank you deal with before we start and we will confirm the position for that bank specifically.

Do I need an audit if my company made no revenue?

Usually yes. The requirement follows your licence and jurisdiction, not your revenue. A nil-revenue company licensed in a free zone that requires audited accounts still has to file them.