Accounting & Audit · Audit Services

Audit services in the UAE

Whether you need an audited financial statement depends on where you are licensed, not how big you are. Several free zones require one at every licence renewal regardless of turnover — including companies that have never traded.

Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025Each zone's own published rulesThree rows say "not published"

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The seven zones we work in

Side by side, from each authority's own rules

There is no single national rule. Each free zone authority sets its own, and mainland requirements differ again by activity and legal form — so the answer to "do I need an audit" is jurisdiction-specific, and generic advice is worse than none. Each card below is taken from the authority's own published rules, not from a summary of them. Where a zone does not publish the rule, the card says so.

IFZA — yes, at every renewal Financial statements have been required at every trade licence renewal since 30 September 2025, for the most recently completed financial year. A simplified statement on IFZA's own template is allowed only if turnover was AED 3m or less AND you had 9 employees or fewer at any point in the year. Fail either test and full audited statements are required.

RAKEZ — not at renewal, but you still need the audit Accounts must be prepared, approved and "examined and reported upon by an auditor" within 6 months of the financial year end (Companies Regulations 2023, reg. 76(4)). They are filed only when the Registrar directs, within 7 days of that directive. The published renewal checklist does not ask for them.

Meydan — no standing renewal rule The Companies and Licensing Regulations 2022 require audited financial statements to be submitted within 30 days of a request from the Authority (cl. 42.1).

Shams — audit yes, renewal link unconfirmed The Companies and Licensing Regulations 2024 require accounts to be examined and reported on by an auditor (Art. 62.3). Separately, an annual audited financial report is required for visa allocations above 20. No renewal deadline is published.

SRTIP — in practice yes Since 15 January 2024 SRTIP accepts audit reports for renewal only from its own list of authorised firms — but it publishes no underlying rule mandating audited statements.

AFZ — a financial report, yes; "audited", no Every renewal variant in the AFZ Services Manual lists "the financial report" among required documents. The word "audit" does not appear anywhere in the 179-page manual, and AFZ has separately confirmed that unaudited statements or management accounts are acceptable in the economic-substance context. Renew a week before expiry to avoid penalties.

SPC — not published SPC does not publish its licensing regulations on its own domain, and nothing on the site states an audit requirement at renewal. Treat as unconfirmed and ask the authority.

A mainland LLC audits regardless of turnoverUnder the Commercial Companies Law, "every joint stock company and limited liability company shall have one or more auditors to carry out an annual audit of its accounts" (Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021, Art. 27(1)). Accounting records are kept at the head office for at least 5 years from the end of the fiscal year (Art. 26(2)).
Corporate tax: above AED 50,000,000, and every qualifying free zone personMinisterial Decision No. 84 of 2025 requires audited financial statements from a taxable person whose revenue exceeds AED 50,000,000 in the tax period, and from every qualifying free zone person regardless of revenue. It applies to tax periods commencing on or after 1 January 2025.
The decision most published guidance still cites is repealedMinisterial Decision No. 84 of 2025 repealed Ministerial Decision No. 82 of 2023. A page citing 82 of 2023 predates the change.
Corporate tax records run 7 years, not 5Two years longer than the Companies Law asks. A retention policy set from the Companies Law alone is short for tax purposes.
The QFZP line is the one that surprises peopleA small free zone company claiming the 0% rate needs an audit even if its free zone never asks for one.
An audit is only as fast as the bookkeeping underneath itThe requirement surfaces at renewal, when there is no time left — a company that has kept receipts in a folder rather than books discovers in the same week that it needs a signed audit, a year of reconciled transactions, and a licence renewed before it expires. The work that makes an audit quick happens eleven months earlier.
Three of the zone positions above are deliberately softShams, SRTIP and SPC do not publish a rule tying audited statements to renewal, and AFZ's own manual says "financial report" rather than "audited". Those cards say so rather than rounding up to a "yes", because a client who books an audit they did not need has been sold something. Each is worth confirming with the authority directly.

At a glance

The essentials

Mainland LLC and JSC: Annual audit required regardless of turnover (FDL 32 of 2021, Art. 27(1))
Corporate tax threshold: Audited statements where revenue exceeds AED 50,000,000 in the tax period
Qualifying free zone person: Audited statements required regardless of revenue
From when: Tax periods commencing on or after 1 January 2025
What it replaced: Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025 repealed Ministerial Decision 82 of 2023
Companies Law records: At least 5 years from the end of the fiscal year (Art. 26(2))
Corporate tax records: 7 years after the end of the tax period
Free zone rule: Set by each authority — see the zone-by-zone cards above

Does this apply to you

Do you need one?

Check your licence conditions, not your turnover.

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This applies to you if

Your free zone mandates itIFZA requires financial statements at every renewal; RAKEZ requires the audit within 6 months of year end even though renewal does not ask for it.
You are a mainland LLC or joint stock companyArticle 27(1) requires an annual audit, and it does not depend on turnover.
You are claiming the 0% qualifying free zone rateMinisterial Decision 84 of 2025 requires audited statements regardless of revenue.
You are seeking bank finance, taking on an investor, or sellingBuyers and lenders ask for audited statements, and producing three years retrospectively is expensive.

It may not apply if

You are mainland, below the relevant thresholds, and no external stakeholder is askingWorth confirming rather than assuming, and worth revisiting when corporate tax filing obligations bite.

FAQ

Common questions

Ask AgentBiz

Can the same firm do my bookkeeping and my audit?

Independence rules generally prevent it. Plan for two providers.

What if the auditor finds an error?

Better than the alternative. Corrections found in audit are ordinary; the same error found later is a different conversation.

How long does it take?

Driven almost entirely by the state of your records, not the auditor's speed.

My free zone has never asked for one. Am I safe?

Not necessarily. If you are claiming the 0% qualifying free zone rate, corporate tax requires audited statements regardless of what your zone asks for.

Which decision governs the corporate tax audit requirement?

Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025, which repealed Ministerial Decision No. 82 of 2023. Guidance still citing 82 of 2023 predates the change.