Audit reports in Dubai for mainland and free zone companies

Who signs your audit report

In the UAE, a statutory audit report must be signed by an auditor approved by the Ministry of Economy. Free zone companies usually also need an auditor on their free zone authority's approved list. A report signed by anyone else may be rejected by the authority that asked for it.

We prepare your audit report with an approved audit firm, and the audit opinion is signed by that approved auditor. Our job is everything that makes the opinion possible: clean books, complete schedules, documents in order and quick answers to the auditor's questions. Most of the time in a small company audit is spent on this preparation.

Keeping preparation and the audit opinion separate also protects the audit. An auditor should be independent of the people who prepared the accounts, so the approved audit firm carries out the audit and signs the opinion, not us.

When a Dubai company needs an audit

UAE company law expects most mainland companies, including LLCs, to appoint an auditor and have their annual accounts audited. Your licensing authority, bank or landlord may also ask for audited statements. If you are not sure whether your company needs an audit, we check your licence type and situation first.

Many free zone authorities ask for audited financial statements each year, often as part of licence renewal. The rules differ between free zones and change from time to time, so we confirm the current requirement with your authority rather than assume. See our free zone audit page for more detail.

Corporate tax adds its own requirement. Qualifying Free Zone Persons need audited financial statements to apply the 0% rate on qualifying income, and taxable persons with revenue above AED 50 million also need audited statements.

What audit-ready accounts look like

Audit-ready accounts have every bank account reconciled to the year-end statement, customer and supplier balances that agree to invoices, and a fixed asset register that matches the balance sheet. Each material number has a schedule behind it and documents to support it.

Auditors also look closely at cut-off, which means income and costs being recorded in the right year. They check related-party transactions, such as loans from shareholders or sales to a sister company, and they ask for contracts behind large or unusual items.

When these are ready before the auditor starts, the audit takes less time and there are fewer queries. When they are not, the auditor has to stop and wait, and deadlines slip.

Internal audit

An internal audit is not a legal requirement for most SMEs. It is a review you choose to commission, to check that your processes work and that money and stock are controlled. We carry out internal audits directly and report to the owners or board. Internal audits are separate from the audit report and are quoted after a short review.

Typical areas include purchasing and supplier payments, cash handling, inventory counts, sales and credit control, user access in your accounting system, and VAT compliance. We test a sample of real transactions in each area and look for weaknesses, errors or signs of misuse.

You get a written report that ranks each finding by risk, explains what could go wrong and suggests a practical fix. We agree actions and dates with you, and can return later to check they have been put in place.

Audit report fees in Dubai

Our audit report fee is set by your annual turnover and covers the audit report prepared with an approved audit firm. Prices are per year, in AED and excluding 5% VAT.

Turnover up to AED 3 million: AED 2,000. AED 3 to 5 million: AED 3,000. AED 5 to 10 million: AED 3,500. AED 10 to 20 million: AED 4,500. AED 20 to 30 million: AED 5,000. AED 30 to 40 million: AED 5,500. AED 40 to 50 million: AED 6,000. Over AED 50 million: custom quote.

If your books are behind when we start, we tell you before the audit begins. Catch-up bookkeeping is quoted after a short review, so you see the full cost before you commit.