DAFZA registered companies have their annual financial statements audited by a firm on the DAFZA approved auditor list. AABDxb holds current approval as an external auditor at DAFZA and is licensed by the UAE Ministry of Economy under auditor licence number 948. This page sets out what the audit involves, what to prepare for it, and how the engagement runs.
DAFZA registered companies have their annual financial statements audited by a firm on the DAFZA approved auditor list, and the accounts timetable is set by the DAFZA Implementing Regulations, Regulation 67. The auditor's standing is tested at the date the report is signed, so a firm that has left the list between engagement and signature is a problem the company discovers late.
The statements are prepared under IFRS. The legal name and registration number on them must match the licence, and the period covered must match the financial year DAFZA holds on record for the company.
Regulation 67 sets the timetable by entity type, so there is no single deadline covering every DAFZA company. Reading across from another free zone, or from a DAFZA entity of a different type, gives the wrong answer.
For an FZCO, the accounts must be prepared and approved, and examined and reported on by the auditor, within 30 days after the financial year end. The accounts and the auditor's report are then filed with the Registrar within 30 days after the audit. Thirty days is a short window on both legs, so the engagement and the bank confirmations start immediately after the year end.
For a PLC, Regulation 67 provides a separate accounts process running to six months, with its own subsequent filing timetable. That route is longer than the FZCO one at both stages.
For an FZCO, the accounts and the auditor's report are filed with the Registrar within 30 days after the audit. The access the filing needs sits with the company's authorised signatory, which is worth checking early rather than on the day it is made. The auditor's approval with the zone is what allows the filing to be accepted.
The accounts must be approved by the directors and signed on their behalf by at least one director. That signature is the point at which the board takes responsibility for the numbers, and on the FZCO timetable it has to fall inside the same 30 day window as the preparation and the audit.
Preparing the financial statements is the company's responsibility and the auditor's role is to express an opinion on them. An auditor who has drafted the numbers cannot then give an independent opinion on them, so the ledger is closed and reconciled before fieldwork starts.
Failure to comply with Regulation 67 is liable to a fine. The amount is set by DAFZA and should be confirmed with the authority rather than assumed, so it is not quoted here.
Assembling the set before fieldwork rather than during it is what most shortens a DAFZA audit. Expect: the trade licence and any amendments; the memorandum and articles and the share register; the trial balance and general ledger; bank statements for every account for the full period with the closing confirmations; the fixed asset register; receivables and payables ageing; inventory counts where inventory is held; payroll and end of service workings; the lease; loan and related party agreements; and the directors' approval of the accounts.
The sequence is: confirm the entity type and the Regulation 67 dates that follow from it, and issue the engagement letter; request the document set and the bank confirmations immediately, since those set the critical path; carry out fieldwork; issue the draft for director review; then director approval and signature, the signed report, and the filing. Every engagement is led personally by Abdulrahman AlNuaimi.
AABDxb is licensed by the UAE Ministry of Economy under auditor licence number 948 and holds current approval as an external auditor at DAFZA. For the position across the other zones the firm is approved in, see the licence renewal audit guide, the DMCC, JAFZA, IFZA, RAKEZ and Ajman Free Zone pages, and the article on free zone audit requirements.
It depends on the entity type. Regulation 67 of the DAFZA Implementing Regulations sets the timetable by entity, and there is no single six month deadline covering every DAFZA company. For an FZCO, the accounts must be prepared and approved, and examined and reported on by the auditor, within 30 days after the financial year end, and the accounts and the auditor's report are then filed with the Registrar within 30 days after the audit. For a PLC, Regulation 67 provides a separate accounts process running to six months, with its own subsequent filing timetable, which is longer than the FZCO route.
The accounts must be approved by the directors and signed on their behalf by at least one director. On the FZCO timetable that approval and signature have to fall inside the same 30 day window after the financial year end as the preparation and the audit.
No. The firm has to be on the DAFZA approved auditor list at the date the report is signed. A Ministry of Economy licence alone is not enough, and the list is revised, so a firm approved in a previous year is not necessarily approved now. Confirm current standing before signing the engagement letter.
Failure to comply with Regulation 67 is liable to a fine. The amount is set by DAFZA and should be confirmed with the authority rather than assumed. On the FZCO route the timetable is short enough that a delayed start is difficult to recover from.
The trade licence and any amendments, the memorandum and articles and the share register, the trial balance and general ledger, bank statements for every account for the full period with the closing confirmations, the fixed asset register, receivables and payables ageing, inventory counts where inventory is held, payroll and end of service workings, the lease, loan and related party agreements, and the directors' approval of the accounts.
There are two separate limbs. A Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare and maintain audited financial statements to satisfy the conditions applicable to Qualifying Free Zone Person status, regardless of revenue. Any other Taxable Person that is not a Tax Group must do so where its revenue exceeds AED 50 million in the tax period, under Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025. The same audited financial statements may also support corporate tax compliance, subject to the requirements applicable to the entity and the relevant free zone.
AABDxb holds current approval as an external auditor at DAFZA and is licensed by the UAE Ministry of Economy (Licence 948).