External / statutory audit consultancy

External auditor/Statutory auditor is an independent firm engaged by the client subject to the audit to express an opinion on whether the company’s financial statements are free of material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error.

It is not compulsory, but it is recommendable for companies for their Banks and third parties. Statutory audit is performed by a Chartered Accountant as required by the Law of the respective country, to ensure the statements provided to the public are free from material misstatements and are true and fair. The audited statements provide only reasonable assurance. Certain entities in Free Zones have to compulsorily get their accounts audited in UAE. Also, it has been specified that all the companies in the mainland are to be audited.

How auditing will help for tax filing?

Auditing will help you in organizing all the records for tax filing and ensure compliance with the laws in calculating the Output and Input tax. All the required values will be filled in the VAT 201 Form, approval taken and duly submitted to FTA within the time frame.

How internal audit differ from external audit?

Internal audits are performed throughout the year, evaluating a company’s internal controls and the accounting processes within a company. They provide recommendations and assistance to the employees of the company. The reports generated by the internal auditors are for management purposes only. An external audit is performed by an independent professional i.e. not an employee of the company. External auditors issue audit opinions on whether the financial statements are ‘true and fair’. Unlike internal auditors, they test the transactions of a company on a sample basis. Hence, external audit ensures only reasonable assurance on the financial statements.

How long does an audit typically take?

An audit might ideally take 2 to 4 Weeks. However, the duration of an audit would depend on its scope, access to records and responses from the management.

How confidential will the information I provide to you and my audit report be?

One of the Code of Ethics for an Auditor is to maintain confidentiality. This would be enclosed in our contract with the respective client. But, if the law requires the auditors to disclose any information about the client due to any suspicion, it will not be considered as a breach of confidentiality.

Why would you want an audit for the financial statement?

You would want an audit for your financial statements because

  1. It would increase the credibility of the financial statements,
  2. Management can rely on the figures presented,
  3. Banks and other financial institutions also would prefer the audited figures,
  4. For renewing the license with some of the free zones in UAE.