Guide

How to choose an accounting firm in Dubai

Four kinds of firm, what each is genuinely right for, what they cost, and the questions worth asking before you sign anything.

A general buying guide. The regulatory summaries below link to official sources; confirm the requirements that apply to your business before engaging a provider.

Tax and regulatory summaries reviewed by Ratul Sharma on 28 September 2026.

Match the firm to the work, not to the brand. If you need an audit opinion a foreign bank will accept, you need a licensed auditor. If you need your books kept and your filings made on time, you need a firm that does that well and says in writing what it costs. Check the scope and permissions for each service before comparing fees.

1. Start with what you actually need

Three questions decide almost everything else, and you can answer all three yourself before you speak to anybody.

Does anyone require an audit of your accounts?

Not whether you would like one — whether a bank, a free zone, a shareholder agreement or the corporate tax rules require it. That single answer separates the firms you should be talking to from the ones you should not.

How much bookkeeping is there, really?

Count your monthly transactions, bank accounts, currencies and entities. Give each firm the same information so you can compare the scope behind its quote.

Do you need judgement, or hands?

Recording what happened is a different job from being told what it means and what to do next. Both are legitimate purchases. Paying advisory rates for data entry is not.

2. What a licence actually permits

Check the permissions and responsibilities for each part of the engagement. Accounting support, an independent audit and acting as a registered tax agent involve different roles. Ask who provides each service and how their authority can be verified.

Auditing

An external auditor gives an independent opinion on financial statements. Confirm the appointed auditor's licence, independence and any approval required by your free zone, bank or other recipient. Preparing records for audit is a different engagement from issuing the audit report.

Acting before the Federal Tax Authority

A registered tax agent can represent a taxpayer before the FTA and assist with tax obligations. Appointment is optional, and the taxpayer remains legally responsible. Check the agent's registration and agree the work in writing. See the FTA's professional standards for tax agents.

Accounting and bookkeeping

Agree who keeps the records, prepares financial statements and supports tax filings. Check the provider's licence activities and identify any work delivered by another firm.

How to check, in two minutes. Ask any firm for its trade licence number and the activities on it. A licence lists its permitted activities in plain words. If a firm is reluctant to give you the number, you have learned something more useful than the number would have told you. Ours is Dubai DET commercial licence 728591.

3. The four kinds of firm

Described by what they are, not ranked. Each is the right answer for somebody, and the wrong answer for somebody else. Find the row that sounds like your business.

International network firms

What it looks like: A practice belonging to an international network. Check which local entity will contract with you, which services it provides, and who will deliver the work.
How fees work: Ask for a scoped fixed-fee or hourly proposal, including any cross-border work and additional service charges.
Right for: Groups with overseas subsidiaries or cross-border reporting needs. Confirm that any proposed auditor meets the relevant bank or regulator's requirements.
What to watch for: Agree the named delivery team, senior review time and response arrangements in the engagement letter.

Established mid-tier firms

What it looks like: A practice offering several service lines, potentially including accounting, tax and audit. Verify the permissions and delivery arrangements for each service.
How fees work: Fixed annual or monthly fees with a scope document. Audit is quoted separately from accounting, because they are separate engagements.
Right for: Businesses looking for several service lines with coordinated delivery and clear responsibilities.
What to watch for: Breadth can mean the specialist you need is one person who is busy. Ask who specifically does your corporate tax computation, not which department.

Specialist and boutique practices

What it looks like: A practice focused on a defined set of work, such as bookkeeping, tax compliance or CFO support. Ask which systems it uses and whether audit work is handled by a separate provider.
How fees work: Published or quickly quoted monthly fees, usually banded by turnover or transaction volume. Fewer line items, and the scope tends to be written down.
Right for: SMEs and growing businesses that want their books kept properly, their filings made on time, and a named person who knows the business — without paying for a service line they never use.
What to watch for: Check what is genuinely in-house and what is subcontracted, and confirm the arrangement if an audit is coming. A boutique that will not tell you plainly which parts it does itself is the wrong boutique.

Freelance bookkeepers and very small outfits

What it looks like: An individual or small team handling a defined scope. Check qualifications, relevant experience, permitted activities and arrangements for cover.
How fees work: Request a written monthly or project fee with the same scope and exclusions you use to compare larger providers.
Right for: A pre-revenue company, a single-activity free zone entity with a handful of transactions, or a business whose owner already knows what the filings require and needs hands rather than judgement.
What to watch for: Concentration risk is the whole issue. One illness, one exit, one dispute and your records are somewhere you cannot reach. Ask where the books physically live, whether the licence covers accounting work, and what happens to your data if the relationship ends.

4. What it costs

These are Alliance CA's published package prices. Compare another quote against the included work, exclusions and reporting commitments, as well as the fee.

Service	Turnover band	From
Accounting & Bookkeeping	Turnover up to AED 5M	AED 1,500/mo
	Turnover AED 5–10M	AED 2,250/mo
	Turnover above AED 10M	AED 3,000/mo
Compliance & Finance	Turnover up to AED 5M	AED 1,800/mo
	Turnover AED 5–10M	AED 2,500/mo
	Turnover above AED 10M	AED 3,500/mo
Fractional CFO	Turnover up to AED 5M	AED 3,000/mo
	Turnover AED 5–10M	AED 4,000/mo
	Turnover above AED 10M	AED 5,000/mo
Audit & Assurance	Turnover up to AED 5M	AED 1,250/mo
	Turnover AED 5–20M	AED 3,000/mo
	Turnover above AED 20M	AED 6,000/mo

One-off and standalone work

Accounting — From AED 1,000 per month
VAT Filing — From AED 500 per tax period
Corporate Tax Filing — From AED 1,000 per tax period
AML Compliance — From AED 1,000 per month
Registration Services — From AED 500 onwards
Licenses & PRO Services — From AED 2,500 onwards

Figures are indicative and exclusive of VAT. Confirm the final scope and fee before engaging us; transaction volume and reporting requirements also affect the work involved. Full pricing.

Our lowest published monthly package is AED 1,250. Ask for a written scope and a named contact so you can assess what the fee covers.

5. What actually moves the price

These factors can explain a difference between quotes. Compare them alongside the provider's experience and the proposed quality controls.

Transaction volume. Two hundred invoices a month is a different job from twenty, at the same turnover.
Number of entities, and whether they consolidate.
Multi-currency, and how many bank accounts need reconciling.
Backlog. Bringing three years current is project work and should be quoted as a project, not folded into a monthly fee.
Whether VAT and corporate tax filings are inside the fee or billed per return.
Whether payroll is included, and how many people are on it.

6. Questions to ask before you sign

Every one of these is answerable by a firm that has its house in order. The evasions tell you more than the answers.

What exactly does your trade licence permit you to do?

Auditing, tax agency and bookkeeping are three different permissions in the UAE. A firm should be able to state which it holds without hedging, and give you the licence number to check.

Who will actually do the work, and who reviews it?

Ask for names. The partner in the meeting is often not the person reconciling your bank account, and that is fine — as long as you know who is and who checks their work.

What is in the fee, and what is billed separately?

The gap between a quoted monthly fee and the annual total is usually registrations, filings, the audit, and anything described as out of scope. Get the exclusions in writing before you sign.

What do I receive each month, and by when?

A date and a deliverable. Management accounts by the fifteenth is an answer. Regular reporting is not.

Which platform will my books be on, and who owns the subscription?

Confirm who controls the subscription and how you retain access and export your records if you leave. Include the handover arrangements in writing.

How do you handle a filing deadline you are going to miss?

Ask how the firm tracks deadlines, flags missing information and escalates a risk of delay. Agree who is responsible for each filing step.

Have you dealt with the FTA on a case like mine, and what happened?

Not a request for names. A firm that has handled a real query, a voluntary disclosure or a penalty can describe the process. One that has not will speak generally.

What happens if I leave?

Ask for the handover terms up front, while you are still attractive to them. Records, formats, timescale, and any fee attached.

7. What you should receive every month

Use this checklist to agree the deliverables and response times for your monthly engagement. Adjust it to the scope you actually need.

Bank and cash reconciled to statement, not to memory
Sales and purchase ledgers current, with aged receivables and payables you can act on
A profit and loss and balance sheet you receive on a stated date each month
VAT workings kept as you go, so the return is a summary rather than a scramble
A named person who answers a question in a day, not a shared inbox

8. Red flags

A monthly fee quoted without asking your transaction volume or number of entities
No written scope, or a scope that lists services without saying what is excluded
A guarantee that you will never face a penalty — nobody controls the FTA's discretion or your own record-keeping
Reluctance to name the licence activities the firm actually holds
The accounting software subscription in the firm's name rather than yours
Claims of regulated status — approved auditor, registered tax agent — that are not on a public register you can check

9. Common questions

How much does an accountant cost in Dubai?

Compare quotes against the same transaction volume, number of entities, reporting requirements and filing scope. Ask what is included and what costs extra. Alliance CA's current published package prices appear above; another provider's fees need to be checked directly with that provider.

Do I need an accountant if my company is in a free zone?

Free-zone status alone does not remove accounting obligations. A Qualifying Free Zone Person must maintain audited financial statements regardless of revenue. Check the requirements of your particular free zone and whether you need outside support to meet them.

MoF: Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025, Articles 2–4 (PDF)

What is the difference between an accountant and an auditor in the UAE?

An accountant or bookkeeper maintains records and prepares financial information. An external auditor provides an independent opinion on financial statements. Check the provider's permitted activities, auditor independence and any approval required by the authority or bank receiving the report.

What is a tax agent, and do I need one?

A registered tax agent can be appointed to represent a taxpayer before the FTA and assist with tax obligations. Appointment is optional and does not transfer the taxpayer's legal responsibility. Confirm the agent's registration and the agreed scope before appointing one.

FTA: professional standards for tax agents, sections 2.1–2.3 (PDF)

When does my business have to register for VAT?

For a UAE-resident business, registration is mandatory when taxable supplies and imports exceed AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months or are expected to exceed it in the next 30 days. Voluntary registration may apply above AED 187,500 using those periods, including qualifying taxable expenses. Non-resident businesses have different rules and may need to register without meeting the threshold.

FTA: VAT registration requirements

When is my corporate tax return due?

The general deadline for a corporate tax return and payment is nine months after the tax period ends. For a period ending 31 December 2025, that is 30 September 2026. Registration is a separate obligation with its own timing, so check the rules for your entity rather than treating the return deadline as a registration deadline.

FTA: relief eligibility, records and return deadlines

Does my company need an audit?

For tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, corporate tax rules require audited statements for a taxable person outside a tax group with revenue above AED 50 million, and for every Qualifying Free Zone Person. Tax groups require audited special-purpose statements. Company law, free-zone rules and lender requirements may impose other audit obligations.

MoF: Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025, Articles 2–4 (PDF)

What is Small Business Relief?

Eligible resident persons may elect to be treated as having no taxable income for a period. The relief covers tax periods beginning on or after 1 June 2023 and ending on or before 31 December 2029. Revenue must not exceed AED 3 million in the current period or any previous relevant tax period; revenues are not added across years. Eligibility has further conditions and exclusions. Registration, filing and record-keeping obligations continue, and the election is made in the tax return for each eligible period.

What is UAE e-invoicing and when does it affect me?

The UAE is introducing structured electronic invoicing through Accredited Service Providers in phases. For the first mandatory business cohort, the Ministry of Finance extended the provider appointment deadline to 30 October 2026 while retaining implementation from 1 January 2027. Check the current decisions for your business's scope, applicable phase and exclusions before planning implementation.

MoF: amended e-invoicing provider appointment deadline

How do I change accountants without disrupting my filings?

Start between filing deadlines rather than in front of one. Confirm you own the accounting software subscription, agree a handover list in writing — trial balance, ledgers, fixed asset register, VAT and corporate tax workings, bank reconciliations — and give the outgoing firm a date. A competent incoming firm will reconcile what it receives and tell you plainly if anything needs correcting before the next return.

10. Where we fit

We are the third kind — a specialist practice, licensed in Dubai since 2015 under DET commercial licence 728591, doing accounting, bookkeeping and tax for SMEs and growing businesses.

Where an audit is required, we prepare the financials and coordinate with your appointed external auditor, who issues the report. Agree the responsibilities and any third-party appointments, including tax-agent representation where needed, in the engagement scope.

What we do Talk to us