Statutory audit in the UAE
A statutory audit is an independent examination of an entity's financial statements that results in an auditor's opinion on whether those statements give a true and fair view or present fairly the state of affairs of the entity.
Under the UAE Commercial Companies Law, a company must appoint an auditor registered with the Ministry of Economy, prepare its financial statements under IFRS, and retain accounting records for at least five years. The audit performed under International Standards on Auditing (ISA), which govern how risk is assessed, how evidence is gathered and how the final opinion is worded.
Requirement to get the financial statements audited in UAE
All UAE mainland companies must have their financial statements audited annually, and most free zone authorities require audited statements before renewing a trade licence.
