Audit preparation and audit support in Dubai

Alliance CA prepares UAE companies for their annual audit. We review your books, prepare reconciled, audit-ready financial statements, set up internal controls and SOPs, and coordinate the audit with your appointed external auditor. That auditor carries out the audit and issues the audit report; Alliance CA does not. Packages start from AED 1,250 a month, exclusive of VAT.

Who does what in a UAE audit?

Your shareholders appoint the external auditor, who audits the accounts and signs the audit report. We prepare your records for the audit and coordinate it.

Task

Who does it

Keep the books and prepare the annual financial statements

Your company, or our accounting service

Appoint the auditor, decide its remuneration and approve the accounts

Your shareholders

Review the books, prepare audit-ready statements and coordinate the audit

Alliance CA

Audit the accounts, then sign and issue the audit report

Your appointed external auditor

For a mainland LLC, the shareholders elect the auditor every year and approve the accounts at a general assembly held within four months of the year end (Commercial Companies Law, Articles 92, 94 and 102).

Is an audit mandatory in the UAE?

Yes for every mainland limited liability company (LLC) and joint stock company: the Commercial Companies Law requires their accounts to be audited every year (Article 27). Free zones and corporate tax have their own rules, below.

Do free zone companies need an audit?

Check your free zone's rules and the corporate tax test, which covers every Qualifying Free Zone Person. The Commercial Companies Law does not apply to free zone companies on matters their free zone's own laws or regulations cover (Article 5, as amended in 2025).

  • DMCC: accounts must be examined by a DMCC-approved auditor within six months of the year end, or another period DMCC sets, unless the company was dormant all year (DMCC Company Regulations, Articles 73.6 and 78.11).
  • Jafza: FZE and FZCO companies must give Jafza an updated audit report every year (Jafza).

Which businesses need audited financial statements for corporate tax?

For tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2025, two groups must prepare and maintain audited financial statements: a business outside a tax group with revenue above AED 50 million in the tax period, and every Qualifying Free Zone Person, whatever its revenue (Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025).

How do you get audited financial statements?

They become audited when your appointed external auditor audits them and issues a signed report. We handle the preparation and coordination around that.

  1. Scoping. After a complimentary scoping consultation, we agree the fee and send an engagement letter.
  2. Auditor appointed. Your shareholders appoint the external auditor for the year.
  3. Books review and statements. We review your books, with verification and vouching of supporting documents, and prepare the financial statements. For corporate tax, they follow IFRS, or IFRS for SMEs where revenue does not exceed AED 50 million (Ministerial Decision No. 114 of 2023, Article 4).
  4. Fieldwork. The auditor may review all the company's registers, papers and documents and ask for explanations (Commercial Companies Law, Article 248). We coordinate those requests.
  5. Report and approval. The auditor signs and issues the audit report, and your shareholders approve the accounts. The audited statements then go where your rules require, such as your free zone authority, or the FTA with your corporate tax return.

Do you set up internal controls and SOPs?

Yes. Every audit package includes an assessment of your internal controls and the setup of controls and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for your team. This is design work for your business, not an internal audit, which we do not offer.

How much does audit preparation cost?

Our Audit & Assurance packages start from AED 1,250 a month, exclusive of VAT, and scale with your annual turnover:

Annual turnover

Starting monthly fee, exclusive of VAT

Up to AED 5 million

AED 1,250

AED 5–20 million

AED 3,000

Above AED 20 million

AED 6,000

Quarterly and annual plans are also available. Complimentary visits: 1–2 on the monthly plan, 3–5 on the quarterly plan, as required on the annual plan.

Not included: recurring bookkeeping and reconciliations (see accounting), return filing, transfer pricing, clean-up of prior periods and forensic work. Audit support is also part of our fractional CFO packages.

Final fees depend on complexity, data quality, transaction volume and locations, and are confirmed after a complimentary scoping call. Compare all packages or book a call.

Who leads the work?

Kiran Kumar CR, Co-Founder & Strategic Finance Director, leads our tax and assurance practice and has over 13 years across corporate finance, taxation, audit and FP&A (our founders).

Questions about audit preparation

Which companies do not need an audit?

Under the Commercial Companies Law, joint liability and limited partnership companies may appoint an auditor but are not required to (Article 27). In DMCC, a company dormant for the whole financial year is exempt from audit (Article 78.11). Corporate tax rules apply separately.

How do you prepare for an audit?

Keep complete books with supporting documents: every company must keep accounting records that accurately show its financial position at any time (Article 26). Then have the year's financial statements ready before fieldwork starts. For the full rules, see which UAE companies need an audit.

How do I audit a company?

You don't audit it yourself: an independent auditor licensed in the UAE does (Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2023, Article 6). The company's part is to have its shareholders appoint the auditor, keep complete books, prepare the year's financial statements and give the auditor access to its records. The auditor then examines the accounts and records and signs the audit report (Commercial Companies Law, Articles 247 and 248). We prepare your records and statements and coordinate the audit; your appointed external auditor performs it and issues the report.

How much does an audit cost in the UAE?

Our audit preparation packages start from AED 1,250 a month, exclusive of VAT, and every fee is agreed before we begin. Under company law, an LLC's annual general assembly decides on the appointment of the auditor and its remuneration (Article 94).

Does Alliance CA issue the audit report?

No. Your appointed external auditor issues the audit report, states its name on it and signs it (Article 247). We prepare the records and financial statements and coordinate the audit.

Where is Alliance CA based?

Our office is at 904 Al Reem Tower, Al Maktoum Street, Deira, Dubai, and we work with businesses across the UAE.

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