Life sciences
Research programmes, grants, intellectual property, clinical or laboratory service contracts and specialist equipment.
Dubai Science Park · DSP
Dubai Science Park Auditors
Financial reporting for science-led businesses. SAIF Chartered Accountants supports Dubai Science Park entities with annual audit, DDA reporting and evidence-led year-end preparation.
Audit in a specialist business district
Follow the science, but audit the financial evidence.
Dubai Science Park serves pharma, health and wellness, and the life, human, plant, material, environmental and energy sciences. Its laboratories, industrial units and warehouses can create reporting questions that a generic checklist misses.
SAIF Chartered Accountants, established in the UAE in 1994, provides financial audit and related reporting support to businesses in Dubai Science Park.
We begin with the legal entity and the way it earns, spends, develops and holds assets. A research company, distributor, testing laboratory and regional branch can occupy the same business district while producing very different evidence.
The annual audit is an independent financial reporting engagement. It does not certify scientific results, product safety or sector permits. Keeping those responsibilities distinct makes the reporting process clearer and more credible.
DDA financial reporting
Confirm the filing route before the year closes.
The Science Park address is not enough by itself. Check the licensed legal entity, its reporting period and current DDA instructions.
01
Annual statements and return
DDA Circular 421 requires FZLLCs and branch offices to prepare and submit audited financial statements and an annual return each financial year.
02
Six-month deadline
The ongoing deadline is six months from financial year-end. Newly registered companies file after the first completed financial year.
03
Branch reporting choice
A branch may use consolidated audited parent statements or a standalone extract covering its own operations, subject to the required package.
04
AXS filing package
The circular identifies AXS and a completed Financial Statements Report Summary Sheet. Confirm the current workflow and retain submission evidence.
Searching for Dubai Science Park approved auditors?
That is a common and useful search phrase, but we could not verify a public DDA list. The official DDA auditor-appointment service lists a directors’ resolution, the audit firm’s valid UAE trade licence and a corporate RICC form. Verify credentials and current acceptance instead of relying on an unsupported online label.
Sources: DDA Circular 421 and DDA Appoint Auditor service. Check the current instructions for the specific entity and engagement.
Science-sector context
The evidence changes with the operating model.
Sector knowledge helps identify relevant questions. It does not replace management’s records or the auditor’s independent assessment.
DSPFinancial evidence
Pharma & wellness
Product inventory, batch and expiry data, rebates, distribution terms, regulatory fees and returns.
Medical devices
Inventory serialisation, demonstration units, warranties, distributor arrangements and equipment servicing.
Testing & diagnostics
Sample or test contracts, consumables, laboratory assets, accreditation costs and cut-off of completed work.
Environment
Project milestones, monitoring equipment, long-term contracts, grants and performance obligations.
Energy sciences
Development expenditure, project assets, technical services, related-party funding and contract estimates.
High-attention reporting areas
Scientific activity can create difficult accounting judgments.
Build the analysis while projects are active. Reconstructing technical and commercial evidence after year-end is slower and less reliable.
Research is not automatically an asset.
Track projects, stages, costs and approvals. Apply the relevant recognition requirements to the facts at each reporting date, and support changes in assessment.
Quantity alone does not establish value.
Connect inventory records with batch, expiry, condition, location and subsequent sale information. Document provisions and write-offs consistently.
Read the conditions, not only the payment.
Identify performance obligations, restrictions, refundable amounts and continuing commitments. Reconcile project reports to the financial records.
Ownership, control and use may differ.
Support laboratory equipment, licences, patents and group-held assets with contracts, registers, useful-life assessments and impairment evidence.
Professional support
A clear scope for each reporting need.
Audit, accounting preparation, filing assistance and tax advice have different objectives and responsibilities. Agree each deliverable in writing.
Annual financial statement audit
Independent examination of the licensed entity’s financial statements, planned around the reporting framework, activities and material risks. The engagement defines the period, intended users and deliverables.
Explore the service →DDA reporting support
Coordinate the approved statements, summary sheet and agreed AXS assistance. Confirm current portal requirements and authorised signatories before submission.
Explore the service →Year-end accounting preparation
Reconcile the ledger and prepare supporting schedules for revenue, research costs, grants, assets and inventory. Preparation is separately scoped and subject to independence safeguards.
Explore the service →Branch and group reporting
Agree whether parent statements or a standalone branch extract will support the filing. Reconcile head-office balances and document shared costs and group services.
Explore the service →Internal controls and risk reviews
Assess selected processes such as purchasing, inventory custody, laboratory assets, payroll or project expenditure. Internal audit complements but does not replace the annual financial audit.
Explore the service →Corporate tax and transfer pricing
Connect the approved accounts to tax workings and document related-party research, licensing, financing or management arrangements. Free-zone location alone does not determine the tax result.
Explore the service →Dubai Science Park audit checklist
Prepare schedules that explain the ledger.
Use one controlled closing trial balance, reconciled subledgers and an issue log. Share confidential scientific and commercial information through an agreed secure process.
Revenue and contracts
Customer and distributor agreements, milestones, delivery or acceptance evidence, rebates, returns, deferred income and receivable ageing. Distinguish product, service, licence and research arrangements.
Research and development
Project registers, approved budgets, employee time, third-party costs, technical milestones and the accounting assessment for research and development expenditure. Avoid capitalising costs solely because a project may have future value.
Inventory and production
Quantity records, locations, batch or lot information, expiry and temperature records where relevant, costing, slow-moving analysis, write-offs and subsequent sales. Reconcile warehouse or laboratory systems to the ledger.
Laboratory and industrial assets
Asset register, invoices, commissioning dates, useful lives, calibration or maintenance records, disposals and impairment indicators. Identify equipment held at another site or used by another group entity.
Grants and collaboration
Grant terms, consortium or university agreements, approved budgets, conditions, deliverables and refundable amounts. Explain restricted funds and obligations that continue after year-end.
Group, tax and intellectual property
Intercompany agreements, confirmations, cost allocations, royalties, financing, IP ownership, tax reconciliations and evidence of services. Document the commercial substance, not just the invoice.
Connect operational systems to financial reporting.
Laboratory, inventory, project, clinical, distribution or grant systems may contain the evidence behind material balances. Reconcile those systems to the ledger and retain a clear explanation of adjustments. A spreadsheet that does not agree to the accounts is not a completed audit schedule.
Read the Dubai Science Park preparation guide →Branches and international groups
Define the boundary between local and parent reporting.
Confirm which entity contracts with customers, employs people, owns inventory and equipment, funds research and holds intellectual property. Reconcile transactions recorded at head office with the local operation.
If parent accounts are used, check whether their period, reporting framework and completion date fit the DDA filing route. A consolidated report may still need supporting local information.
Resolve these questions early
- Do parent and local reporting periods match?
- Which balances are recorded centrally?
- Who owns stock, equipment and intellectual property?
- How are shared research and management costs allocated?
- Are grants, royalties or financing related-party transactions?
- Who approves the statements and completes the filing?
How the engagement works
Four stages with visible ownership.
A target date is useful, but completion depends on sufficient evidence, review and management approval.
- 01
Define the reporting brief
Confirm the legal entity, financial year, DDA instructions, reporting framework, intended users and required date. Assess appointment eligibility and independence.
- 02
Close and reconcile
Prepare one controlled trial balance. Reconcile operating systems and schedules to the ledger, record unresolved differences and assign each evidence request.
- 03
Examine and resolve
Provide evidence for independent audit work. Discuss findings, proposed adjustments and disclosures; management decides and approves the financial statements.
- 04
Report and retain
Complete the report and agreed filing package when sufficient evidence is available. Keep the signed statements, submission confirmation and subsequent correspondence together.
Corporate tax coordination
Do not infer tax treatment from the address.
Use the approved financial statements as the starting point for tax workings, with a documented reconciliation of adjustments. Dubai Science Park reporting and federal tax filing are separate obligations.
Assess the entity’s legal form, actual activities, income and statutory conditions before reaching a view on free-zone tax treatment. The presence of laboratories or R&D activity does not by itself determine the rate.
Corporate tax services →Make related-party analysis transaction-specific.
Research services, IP licences, royalties, distribution arrangements, shared employees, financing and management charges may need transfer pricing analysis. Keep the agreement, functional analysis, calculation and service evidence together.
A benchmarking study can support an appropriate method and range. It cannot replace the actual contract, commercial rationale or proof that the transaction occurred.
Transfer pricing benchmarking services →Frequently asked questions
Dubai Science Park audit questions, answered.
Concise answers for owners, finance teams, branches and science-sector businesses.
Speak with our team →01Does a Dubai Science Park company need an annual audit?+
DDA Circular 421 requires DDA-regulated FZLLCs and branch offices to prepare and submit annual audited financial statements and an annual return. Confirm the legal entity and current instructions rather than relying only on the Science Park address.
02When are Dubai Science Park audited financial statements due?+
Circular 421 sets an ongoing deadline of six months from financial year-end. A newly registered company files after its first completed financial year. Build in time for evidence, management approval and submission.
03Is there a public Dubai Science Park approved auditors list?+
The current DDA material we can verify publishes an auditor-appointment service and required documents. Before appointment, verify the audit firm’s UAE professional credentials and acceptance for the entity with DDA or AXS; do not rely only on an online “approved” label.
04What documents are needed to appoint or change an auditor?+
DDA’s service lists a directors’ resolution, the audit firm’s valid UAE trade licence and its corporate RICC form. The general manager or appointed legal representative makes the request. Check the current service page for attestation and portal requirements.
05Can a Dubai Science Park branch use its parent company accounts?+
Circular 421 allows a branch to submit consolidated audited parent statements or a standalone extract covering the branch operation. Confirm the chosen route and whether extra local information is required before work begins.
06Which records should a life-sciences company prepare?+
Start with the trial balance and prior statements, then prepare reconciled schedules for contracts, research projects, grants, stock, expiry exposure, laboratory assets, payroll, group balances and tax. The exact list follows the business and material risks.
07Can all research and development costs be capitalised?+
No. The accounting treatment depends on the applicable reporting requirements and the facts at the relevant date. Keep project-level evidence for technical progress, resources, costs and future benefits; management must support its assessment.
08Does the financial audit certify product safety or scientific results?+
No. A financial statement audit does not approve medicines, devices, laboratory methods, clinical findings, permits or product safety. Those regulatory and technical obligations require separate competent authorities and specialists.
09How should pharmaceutical or laboratory inventory be prepared?+
Reconcile quantities and locations to the ledger, retain batch or lot data where applicable, document cost, expiry and storage conditions, and assess slow-moving, damaged or obsolete items. Explain third-party and consignment stock separately.
10Does a Science Park licence guarantee 0% Corporate tax?+
No. Tax treatment depends on the entity, activities, transactions and applicable statutory conditions. The audit supports reliable financial information but does not by itself establish Qualifying Free Zone Person treatment or a 0% rate.
11When is transfer pricing relevant to a Science Park business?+
It may be relevant to group-funded research, royalties, technical services, management charges, financing, distribution and shared assets. Support the actual transaction with agreements, functional analysis, calculations and, where appropriate, benchmarking.
12What affects the audit fee and completion time?+
Record quality, transaction volumes, inventory locations, group complexity, accounting judgments and evidence availability affect the work. Share the licence, trial balance, prior report and reporting brief for a scoped proposal.
Relevant guidance
Science Park, DDA and tax insights.
Corporate TaxDubai Science Park Audit and Year-End Preparation Guide
A practical Dubai Science Park guide to DDA audit deadlines, R&D records, laboratory assets, inventory, grants, branch reporting and tax coordination.
Read insight ↗
AuditDCCA to DDA: Audit Preparation for Dubai Business Districts
A practical DDA reporting guide for TECOM businesses: understand the former DCCA name, organise year-end evidence and coordinate company or branch submissions.
Read insight ↗
Corporate TaxQualifying Free Zone Person Assessment: UAE Corporate tax Guide
Assess QFZP eligibility, qualifying income, excluded activities, de minimis, substance, audit and transfer pricing requirements under UAE Corporate tax.
Read insight ↗Official references
Verify the current requirements.
- DDA — Circular 421: annual audited financial reporting
- DDA — appoint or change the company auditor
- DDA — Private Companies Regulations
- Dubai Science Park — sectors and business facilities
Updated 17 September 2026. General information, not entity-specific accounting, legal, tax, scientific or regulatory advice. Confirm current authority instructions and the requirements applying to the business.
SAIF Chartered Accountants · Dubai Science Park
Prepare a reporting file that stands up to examination.
Share the licence, financial year, trial balance, prior report and required date. Tell us about research projects, inventory, grants, branches and group transactions so we can scope the work properly.
Discuss your Science Park audit →