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An audit firm in Dubai is a business licensed and registered to audit financial statements. It should be independent of the people who prepared your accounts. Under corporate tax, a Qualifying Free Zone Person and a taxable person that is not a tax group and has revenue above AED 50,000,000 in the tax period must have audited financial statements, and many free zones set their own audit rule. Source: Ministry of Finance, Ministerial Decision No. 84, checked .
The question for most owners is not which firm is largest. It is whether your company needs an audit, who is allowed to sign it and whether your free zone will accept that signer. Audit firms from our Dubai list are further down this page.
Who needs an audit in Dubai?
Three separate sources can require one. Each has its own test.
- The Commercial Companies Law. A search extract of Federal Decree-Law No. 32 says every joint stock company and limited liability company must have one or more auditors who audit the accounts each year, and the auditor must be registered with the Ministry and licensed by the competent authority. We could not open the full text, so confirm the article that applies to you. Source: UAE Legislation portal, checked .
- Corporate tax. Audited financial statements are required for a Qualifying Free Zone Person and for a taxable person that is not a tax group with revenue above AED 50,000,000 in the tax period. Source: Ministry of Finance, Ministerial Decision No. 84, checked .
- Your free zone. Free zone authorities set their own audit rules for licensed companies. See the next section.
How do free zones choose auditors?
Zones do not work the same way, and the differences decide which firm you can use.
| Zone | What its own pages say |
|---|---|
| DMCC | Auditor must be approved by DMCC. A live search tool lists them. |
| DAFZA | Publishes a dated PDF titled Auditors List. |
| ADGM | Audits must be done by an ADGM Registered Auditor, with a public register. |
| IFZA | Any registered UAE auditor may be used. |
| JAFZA | Report issued by an auditor with a Dubai Economic Department licence. No panel named. |
Sources: DMCC, DAFZA, ADGM, IFZA and JAFZA pages, checked . The full picture is on free zone approved auditors, with a page per zone such as DMCC and ADGM.
How do I check an audit firm in Dubai?
- Trade licence for audit. The licence must cover audit work.
- The signer. Ask for the name. The Ministry of Economy keeps electronic registers of practising auditors, trainees and legal persons, which include local firms and branches of foreign firms. Check the entry.
- Zone acceptance. Ask the firm to confirm in writing that your zone accepts it. Better, ask the zone.
- Independence. The firm that audits you should not be the one that wrote your books.
- Timeline. Ask how long after you hand over records the report is ready, and what happens if the zone asks for changes.
If you want an auditor whose office you can visit, see audit firms in Business Bay.
How are audit fees worked out?
Audit pricing depends on size, transaction volume, the state of the books and the zone. We found no reliable public price range for small free zone audits. One provider publishes its own starting price and others publish only guide ranges, so treat any number you see online as a prompt to ask, not a benchmark. Read audit costs in Dubai for how to build a comparison.
How do I compare audit quotes?
Ask each firm for the same four things: what is included, who signs, when the report is delivered and what is charged if the file is incomplete. Then compare the answers, not only the price.
What are the red flags with an audit firm?
- The firm cannot name the signer.
- It offers a report without seeing records.
- It says it is approved by your zone but cannot show where.
- The quote changes when you ask about the signer.
If you are not sure that you need an audit, read audit requirements in the UAE first. Then use the quote form below to ask for matching quotes.
