Can they take this appointment?
Identify the company, licence, reporting authority and intended report recipient. Confirm any auditor registration, signing, independence or format requirements that apply to this exact assignment.
A considered choice for your business
Why choose SAIF Chartered Accountants?
Choose the firm that fits the assignment—not the broadest promise.
SAIF helps UAE businesses with audit, accounting, tax and advisory work. Established in the UAE in 1994, we start by understanding the company, the report recipient and the decision or deadline behind the request. Then we define the right scope, responsible people, evidence needs and deliverables.
Approved auditorsMajor UAE banks and free zones
Since 1994UAE-established practice
TAN 30004113FTA-registered tax agency
Before you appoint a firm
What should you check when choosing an auditor or accountant in Dubai?
The lowest quote or longest service list does not tell you whether a firm is right for your company. These questions make the comparison more useful.
Who will do the work?
Ask for a named contact, relevant experience, review arrangements and a communication route for unresolved questions. A good proposal makes responsibilities visible.
What is included?
Separate the audit opinion from bookkeeping cleanup, tax filings, management reports, authority submissions and other advisory work. Compare deliverables and exclusions, not just headline fees.
What information is needed?
Discuss the trial balance, reconciliations, prior accounts, contracts and tax records early. A realistic timetable depends on sufficient evidence and timely decisions by management.
Fit goes beyond the licence
Does the firm understand how your business makes money?
“UAE company” is not a single audit profile. We shape the information request around the company’s transactions, accounting policies, controls and report purpose—not a generic checklist alone.
Trading & distribution
Inventory existence and valuation, imports, supplier balances, customer credit and revenue cut-off can drive the audit plan. Ask how stock counts and aged receivables will be addressed.
Projects & contracting
Contracts, variations, work in progress, cost estimates and retention balances need a different evidence trail. Identify significant judgments and supporting schedules early.
Services & technology
Contract terms, deferred or accrued income, payroll, intangible assets and related-party charges may matter more than physical stock. The work should follow the actual revenue model.
Free-zone entities & groups
Confirm the legal entities, branch or group reporting boundary, related-party balances, authority requirements and any lender instructions before settling the audit scope.
What helps us prepare a useful proposal?
Share the trade licence, financial year-end, prior report or financial statements, current trial balance, approximate transaction volume and the recipient’s instructions. Flag overdue periods, unreconciled balances, group companies and a firm deadline.
How are fees and timing agreed?
The quote should reflect the scope and the state of the records. Complex transactions, missing evidence, additional entities and separate tax or accounting cleanup can change the work required. We explain those dependencies before starting rather than promising a universal price or completion date.
Our working approach
Defined work, direct communication and a usable outcome.
We do not apply one fixed package to every company. A free-zone audit, a mainland accounting assignment, a Corporate tax review and a transaction question can have different evidence, independence and reporting needs.
- Clarify the purpose. Identify the entity, users, deadline and applicable requirements.
- Agree the scope. Set out responsibilities, deliverables, information requests, fees and milestones.
- Examine the records. Raise material gaps and judgments while there is still time to respond.
- Explain the result. Deliver the agreed work and make limitations and next steps clear.
Where the service is an independent audit, the audit opinion is based on the evidence obtained. We cannot promise a particular opinion, authority acceptance or financing decision.
Connected, not interchangeable
Choose the expertise that matches your question.
Related disciplines can inform each other, but an audit, an accounting service and tax advice have different responsibilities. We agree where a separate scope or independence check is needed.
Audit & assurance
Statutory and free-zone audits, internal audit and specialist reviews, subject to the particular appointment rules.
Explore audit services →Accounting & reporting
Bookkeeping, reconciliations, management information and reliable year-end records. We work with a broad range of accounting and ERP systems; using Zoho Books or Odoo is not required.
Explore accounting services →UAE tax
VAT, Corporate tax and tax-agent support, with scope matched to the entity and its obligations.
Explore UAE tax services →Transfer pricing
Related-party transaction analysis, documentation and benchmarking studies built on facts and supportable comparables.
Transfer pricing →Benchmarking →Credentials and acceptance
Approved audit capability with clear engagement checks.
SAIF works as an approved auditor with major UAE banks and free zones. We also hold FTA Tax Agency number TAN 30004113 and maintain ISO certification. Our independent SGA World membership and Zoho Books and Odoo directory profiles can be checked directly.
Bank and free-zone requirements can differ by recipient, entity and report purpose. Before accepting an audit engagement, we confirm the current appointment and signing requirements that apply to that assignment, including any separate regulated registration.
Understand free-zone auditor requirements →Common questions
Choosing SAIF for your UAE business
Answers to practical questions before you request an audit, accounting or tax proposal.
How do I choose an audit firm in Dubai?
Start with the reason for the audit and the report recipient. Ask whether the firm and signing auditor meet the relevant appointment requirements, how independence is assessed, who will manage the work, what records are needed, what the fee covers and when the report can realistically be completed.
How do we confirm auditor acceptance for our bank or free zone?
Tell us the company, authority or lender, reporting period and purpose of the report. Banks and free-zone authorities can set different or changing requirements. Before confirming an audit engagement, SAIF checks the applicable appointment, signatory and report-format criteria for that specific recipient.
Can SAIF audit our trading, project or professional-services business?
The audit approach should reflect how the company earns revenue, holds assets and manages risk. A trading company may need careful inventory and receivables work; a project business may need contract and work-in-progress analysis; a service firm may need revenue cut-off and payroll review. We assess the entity, records, reporting framework and any specialist needs before agreeing the scope.
Can the same firm handle our accounting and statutory audit?
Accounting support and independent audit are different services. If both are requested, we first assess applicable independence and conflict requirements. Some combinations of work may need separate teams, safeguards or a different provider; management remains responsible for its accounts.
Does SAIF offer fixed audit or accounting packages?
No single plan fits every company. The entities involved, record quality, reporting framework, deadline, authority or lender requirements and scope of work affect the quotation. We explain inclusions, exclusions, information needs and milestones before appointment.
What should I send to request an audit proposal?
Share the trade licence, legal entity and year-end, prior-year audit report or financial statements, current trial balance, approximate transaction volume, reporting deadline and any bank or authority instructions. Tell us about group entities, overdue periods, unresolved accounting issues and the state of reconciliations. We can then define a realistic information request and quotation.
How much does an audit in Dubai cost and how long will it take?
Audit fees and timing depend on the company’s size and activity, number of entities, record quality, complexity of balances, reporting framework, recipient requirements and responsiveness during fieldwork. A price or completion date given without reviewing those facts can be misleading. We agree the fee basis, scope and milestones after understanding the assignment.
Does SAIF help with VAT, Corporate tax and transfer pricing?
Yes, these can be scoped as separate tax assignments alongside audit or accounting work where appropriate. SAIF is an FTA-registered Tax Agency under TAN 30004113. Transfer pricing and benchmarking depend on the actual related-party transactions and documentation requirements.
Must our business use Zoho Books or Odoo to work with SAIF?
No. We can work with a wide range of accounting systems and assess your existing platform, version, data quality and reporting needs before recommending any change. SAIF is an authorised Zoho Books and Odoo partner, and we also support Xero, ERPNext, QuickBooks, Tally, Sage and other accounting and ERP systems.
How can I verify SAIF’s professional connections?
SAIF is listed as an independent member firm in the SGA World directory. SAIF is an authorised partner for Zoho Books and Odoo. You can also find us in Zoho’s advisor directory and Odoo’s Accounting Firms directory. These are two of the systems we support, not the full range.
Start with a clear brief
Tell us what the work needs to achieve.
Share your company type, year-end, authority or report recipient, deadline and current records. We will identify the appropriate next discussion and scope.
