A Guide for Businesses in Dubai to Stay Audit-ready in 2024

There is a common saying that can be applied to all fields including external audits: “Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.” In simple terms, an audit can be defined as an examination of your organization’s financial statements and business practices by an independent auditor.

By conducting an external audit in the UAE, companies can ensure they have the appropriate controls and risk mitigation measures in place. It can also help you make sure whether your financial statements are accurate.

During an external audit, business owners often come under a great deal of pressure. Staying ready for audits in Dubai is essential to avoid the mad rush and last-minute scrambling by the staff.

Being ready for an audit will help you avoid any last-minute surprises and make the job easy for the auditors in Dubai. In this blog, we will discuss how to stay audit-ready and avoid audit stress.

Understand the purpose and scope

The reasons for conducting external audits in the UAE are different. Companies perform audits to comply with the regulatory requirements, to renew the free zone trade license every year, upon banks’ request, for corporate tax purposes, to get ICV certification, upon the request of shareholders, to make better decisions, for M & A due diligence etc.

Make sure everyone involved in the process understands the purpose and scope of the audit. You must determine the following things as part of your audit preparation in Dubai:

• Why the company is being audited?
  What needs to be presented and examined?
• Due date for the audit findings
• The time period covered by the audit
• Standards you must adhere to for the audit

Select from the best audit firms in Dubai

Selecting the right auditors in the UAE is critical to ensure the success of the process. It is advisable to hire audit firms in Dubai that are approved by the major banks and listed with the free zones. You must also ensure that the audit company is a reputed professional organization that meets your competency requirements.

Get the Documents in Order

A typical financial audit in the UAE requires the companies to go through a lot of paperwork, spreadsheets, and other financial records. It is ideal to have all your records and documents in a single accounting software. The audit will finish quickly without any hassle if the auditor gets less physical paper to handle.

Prepare stakeholders

In many companies, the audit is led by the in-house finance team, especially the accountants. Most often, the accountants and CFOs possess a background in audit and know what to expect. However, the same cannot be said for the other people involved.

You must bring your senior management, compliance and risk management officers, legal team, and other “employees into the process. Make them aware of the process and assign specific duties to them. You should also remember that they have to carry out their normal job responsibilities as well.

Specifically, they should understand the following:

• Why the audit is being carried out?
• Why they are involved?
• The type of audits they must prepare in advance

Automate reconciliations

The year-end accounting period can be stressful for your in-house finance team. However, this can be simplified if you don’t have to reconcile payments against bank statements line by line. Automating reconciliations can be helpful for you when the auditors in Dubai visit your office for the audit.

Review your Business Process

You must have a clear idea of how your business is operating. Before the audit begins, you must review your internal control systems and obvious process gaps.

Hire the Best Audit Firms in Dubai, UAE

Being audit-ready in the UAE will save you time and money and will get you closer to having a successful one. However, you need to test your financial reporting systems and processes before the actual audit occurs. Choosing the best audit firms in Dubai such as Jitendra Chartered Accountants (JCA) ensures the success of your audit.

JCA is one of the top auditing companies in Dubai with over two-decades of experience. Apart from audit services in Dubai, JCA also offers bespoke services such as accounting, corporate tax advisory, VAT compliance, Economic Substance Regulation (ESR) services, and Anti-money Laundering compliance services.