Every mainland limited liability company and joint stock company in the UAE must have its accounts audited each year under the Commercial Companies Law. Free zones set their own rules; DMCC and JAFZA, for example, require annual audited accounts. Corporate Tax adds audited financial statements for Revenue above AED 50 million and for every Qualifying Free Zone Person.

Which companies in the UAE are required to have an audit?

On the mainland, every limited liability company (LLC) and joint stock company must have an auditor audit its accounts every year, and a foreign company's branch needs a registered auditor. Free zone companies follow their free zone's rules. Corporate Tax separately requires audited financial statements above AED 50 million of Revenue and for Qualifying Free Zone Persons.

  • LLCs and joint stock companies. Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies requires every LLC and every joint stock company, public or private, to have one or more auditors audit its accounts each year. An LLC's general assembly elects its auditor every year. Some companies are exempt from the law, such as certain wholly government-owned companies.
  • Partnerships. Joint liability companies and limited partnership companies may appoint an auditor, but the Commercial Companies Law does not require one. The Corporate Tax rules below can still apply.
  • Branches of foreign companies. Apart from representative offices, a foreign company's UAE branch must keep its own balance sheet and profit and loss account, have an auditor registered to practise in the UAE and give its accounts and auditor's report each year to the competent local authority and the Ministry of Economy.
  • Free zone companies. The Commercial Companies Law does not apply on matters that a free zone's own laws or regulations cover, and audit rules differ between free zones. DMCC requires its companies to have their accounts audited by a DMCC-approved auditor within six months of the year end, unless dormant for the whole year. JAFZA requires FZEs and FZCOs to give it an updated audit report every year. Check your own free zone's regulations.
  • Corporate Tax. For Tax Periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 requires any Taxable Person, other than a Tax Group, whose Revenue exceeds AED 50 million in the Tax Period to prepare and maintain audited financial statements. Every Qualifying Free Zone Person (a free zone business that meets the conditions for 0% tax on its Qualifying Income) must do the same, whatever its Revenue. A Tax Group prepares audited special purpose financial statements and submits them to the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) within nine months of the end of the Tax Period. See our Corporate Tax services.

What are the statutory audit requirements in the UAE?

On the mainland, a statutory audit is carried out by an auditor licensed by the Ministry of Economy (now the Ministry of Economy and Tourism), applying International Standards on Auditing. An LLC's annual general assembly, held within four months of the year end, considers the auditor's report and approves the accounts. Free zones set their own approved-auditor rules and deadlines.

Who can carry out the audit

  • A licensed auditor. Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2023 on the accounting and auditing profession covers auditors practising in the UAE, and free zone auditors who practise outside their free zone. None of them may practise without the licences it requires, including a professional licence from the Ministry. The Ministry's Auditors Department licenses audit firms and their auditors.
  • Public joint stock companies. The auditor must also be approved by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), which replaced the Securities and Commodities Authority on 1 January 2026, and have at least five years' experience auditing joint stock companies.
  • Free zone lists. DMCC accepts only auditors on its Approved Auditor List. JAFZA's guide says the audit report must come from an auditor holding a Dubai Economic Department licence.

Standards and timing

  • Auditing standards. A 2024 Ministerial decision requires licensed auditors to apply the International Standards on Auditing and the IESBA code of ethics, including its independence standards.
  • LLCs. The general assembly must meet at least once a year, within four months after the financial year ends. It considers the auditor's report, approves the balance sheet and profit and loss account, and appoints the auditor and sets the fee.
  • Public joint stock companies. The audited accounts go to the general assembly within four months of the year end, and copies go to the CMA and the competent local authority within seven days of that meeting.
  • DMCC. The audited accounts are laid before a general meeting and filed with the DMCC Registrar within five business days of it. DMCC's guidelines ask companies to upload them on the Member Portal, with a summary sheet signed and stamped by the auditor, within six months of the year end.
  • JAFZA. The annual audit report is submitted through the Dubai Trade portal, with a summary sheet stamped and signed by the auditor.

What qualifies as an audited financial statement?

Audited financial statements are a company's full set of annual financial statements with a signed report from an independent, licensed auditor giving an opinion on whether they present a fair view. In the UAE they are generally prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), or IFRS for SMEs where allowed, and audited under International Standards on Auditing.

  • A complete set. For Corporate Tax, financial statements are a complete set, including an income statement, a statement of other comprehensive income, a balance sheet, a statement of changes in equity and a cash flow statement.
  • The right accounting standards. The Commercial Companies Law requires international accounting standards. For Corporate Tax, a business applies IFRS, or may use IFRS for SMEs if its Revenue is AED 50 million or less. DMCC requires IFRS.
  • A signed auditor's report. Under the Commercial Companies Law, the auditor states its name on the report and signs it, and the report says whether the accounts follow the law and give a fair view of the company's financial position. DMCC also requires the report to cover whether the company carries on only its licensed activities, and to be signed by the senior statutory auditor.
  • An audit, not a review. The Ministry's adopted standards treat audits, reviews and related services as separate engagements, so financial statements that have only been reviewed are not audited.
  • The right auditor. For Corporate Tax, the FTA's guidance says the audit must be performed by a UAE-registered auditor.

Banks and other authorities can set further conditions; see what UAE banks and authorities require when reviewing company audit reports.

How do I get audited financial statements?

Keep complete books through the year and have the shareholders appoint a licensed auditor, from your free zone's approved list where one applies. After the year end, prepare the annual financial statements and give the auditor access to your records. Once the auditor signs the report, the shareholders approve the accounts and you file them wherever your rules require.

  1. Keep proper books. Every company must keep accounting records that show its transactions and accurately reveal its financial position at any time. See our business accounting services.
  2. Appoint the auditor. The shareholders appoint the auditor at a general meeting. Check the auditor's Ministry licence and, in a free zone, the approved list. DMCC also requires the auditor's written consent before appointment.
  3. Prepare the financial statements. Management prepares the annual accounts under the applicable standards. A joint stock company's board of directors must prepare them, and in DMCC the directors approve them and at least one signs.
  4. Support the fieldwork. The auditor is entitled to review all the company's registers, papers and documents, ask for the explanations it needs and verify its assets, rights and obligations. Have reconciliations and supporting documents ready.
  5. Approve the accounts. The auditor issues a signed report, which the shareholders consider when they approve the accounts at the general assembly.
  6. File where required. Submit the audited accounts to whoever your rules name, such as your free zone authority, the CMA for a public joint stock company or the FTA with your Corporate Tax return.

How much does an audit cost?

There is no single price, because the law leaves the auditor's fee to each company. Under the Commercial Companies Law, the shareholders approve the fee at the general assembly, normally when they appoint the auditor.

Agree the scope, timetable and fee in writing before work starts, including any extra reporting your free zone or the FTA requires.

Getting help

Alliance CA prepares and reconciles financial statements ready for audit and coordinates the audit with the external auditor the company appoints. The audit report itself is issued by that independent auditor, not by Alliance CA. See our Audit & Assurance services or contact us.