Forensic accounting is the examination of accounting records to establish the facts for a dispute, a suspicion of fraud or a court. At AABDxb the work is done by registered accounting experts, and the client receives a reasoned report that can be used before UAE courts or as a consultation expert report for a party.
Where embezzlement is pursued as a crime, it is dealt with under the Penal Code. The forensic report establishes the accounting facts; the criminal characterisation of those facts is for the prosecution and the court.
Forensic work at AABDxb is done by its four registered accounting experts, all Emirati. A registered expert leads every file, and the founder reviews every report.
The founder, Abdulrahman AlNuaimi, registered with the Dubai Courts (235), the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (198) and the Ministry of Justice (651), holds the CIPFA Fraud Investigation Certificate, the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) qualification and the Forensic Expert Diploma. Liyali Bader Alsuwaidi holds the CIPFA International Certificate in Financial Fraud Investigation. Abdalla Khalfan Almheiri's practice experience includes forensic accounting.
Profiles and registration numbers are on the team page.
The engagement ends in a written report. Its structure is the same whether it goes to a court or serves a party and its lawyers as a consultation expert report, so a report written for an internal purpose remains usable if the matter later reaches a court. The same structure is used before arbitral tribunals, which may appoint their own experts (Federal Law 6 of 2018, Article 34).
Each figure in the narrative is traceable to a schedule and each schedule to source documents. Anything the expert could not test, and any record that was unavailable or incomplete, is stated. For how a reader works through one, see the article on how to read a financial expert report.
The task put to the expert
The documents examined and their source
The method applied
The findings
Quantification, where relevant
Reasoned conclusions
Exhibits and schedules
The first meeting is more useful with a few things in hand: a short written account of what is suspected and how it came to light, with dates; the period the concern covers; the entities and accounts involved; and the roles, rather than the individuals, that had access to the records and to the funds.
On the records side: the trial balance and general ledger for the period, bank statements for every account, the accounting system and who administers it, the approval and payment authorities as they actually operated rather than as the manual describes them, and any internal review already carried out. Where an internal review has been done, its working papers matter as much as its conclusion.
Two cautions. Confronting a suspected individual before evidence is secured tends to cost more than it gains. And an engagement instructed through counsel may attract protections that a direct instruction does not, which is a question to settle with a lawyer before work starts rather than after. For what the work looks like once it is running, see what happens during a forensic audit. For the first days after a suspicion and for how long the work usually runs, see what to do in the first 72 hours and how long a forensic audit takes.
There is no price list for forensic work, and a figure quoted before the file has been seen is not a serious one. The fee follows the complexity of the task and the responsibility the expert carries for the figures: the amount in dispute or under examination, the number of entities, accounts and financial years involved, the volume and condition of the records, how many parties will put questions to the expert, and whether a hearing or a reply to objections is likely.
AABDxb issues a written fee proposal after a scoping review of the file, with the task, the period and the records to be examined set out, so that the scope and the fee are fixed before work starts. Where the court appoints the expert, the assignment decision sets the task, powers and deadline (Evidence Law, Article 111) and the court sets the fees deposit and who pays it (Evidence Law, Article 112); the expert does not negotiate the fee with the parties. Expert fees are also addressed in Federal Decree-Law 21 of 2022 (Article 30).
Fraud Investigation, Family Business
AED 1.2M Embezzlement Identified
Full forensic investigation conducted across three years of financial records. Discrepancies traced, evidenced, and documented in a report prepared in the required language so that it can be used in subsequent proceedings.
Amount Identified
AED 1.2M
Forensic accounting is the examination of accounting records to establish the facts for a dispute, a suspicion of fraud or a court. A standard audit assesses whether financial statements are presented fairly; forensic accounting investigates specific questions and produces findings structured for use as evidence.
There is no standard answer, because duration depends on several variables that are specific to each assignment. A focused single-question assignment can typically be completed in three to six weeks from document access to final report. A standard shareholder or commercial dispute assignment, covering two to three financial years for a single entity, typically takes six to twelve weeks from full document access to draft report, with a further two to four weeks for finalisation after client review. For complex multi-entity or multi-jurisdiction assignments, four to six months is a realistic timeline from engagement to final report.
Yes. A forensic report prepared to the required evidential standard can be submitted in civil and criminal proceedings in the UAE. The court weighs it with the other evidence: under Article 122(2) of the Evidence Law, an expert's opinion does not bind the court, which must give reasons if it departs from it.
A court-appointed expert report is commissioned by the court, whose assignment decision sets the expert's task, powers and deadline (Evidence Law, Article 111), and the expert works for the court. A forensic report commissioned by a party is a consultation expert report on the questions that party puts. An expert previously consulted by a party cannot be assigned in the same matter (Federal Decree-Law 21 of 2022, Article 14(6)).
Yes. The work establishes from the books and bank records what was taken, when and through which accounts, and sets it out in a reasoned report. Whether those facts amount to a crime under the Penal Code is a question for the prosecution and the court.
AABDxb's four registered accounting experts, all Emirati. A registered expert leads every file and the founder, Abdulrahman AlNuaimi, reviews every report. Forensic credentials include the founder's CIPFA Fraud Investigation Certificate, CAMS and Forensic Expert Diploma, and Liyali Bader Alsuwaidi's CIPFA International Certificate in Financial Fraud Investigation.
There is no standard fee. The cost follows the complexity of the task and the responsibility carried for the figures: the amount under examination, the number of entities, accounts and years, the volume and condition of the records, and whether the expert will have to answer the parties or the court. AABDxb issues a written fee proposal after a scoping review, so the scope and the fee are fixed before work starts. Where the court appoints the expert, the court sets the fees deposit and who pays it (Evidence Law, Article 112).
A registered accounting expert can. Where one partner or shareholder suspects another, the work rebuilds the accounts from source documents, follows the funds through the bank records and any related entities, and sets out what left the company, when and through which accounts, in a reasoned report that can be used before a UAE court or as a consultation expert report in a shareholder dispute. Secure the records before the partner is alerted; a confrontation before the evidence is secured tends to cost more than it gains.
Early engagement limits evidence loss. Consultations are confidential and handled directly by the founding partner.