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Costs of a regular audit for Free Zone entity in Dubai

The problem with audit is that usually nobody will agree to make an audit without having professionally prepared accounts. Since neither accounting or auditing was required by some of the free zones, it is hard to look at only audit fees. That's the same like with VAT reporting. You can find companies offering VAT submission service for AED 500 per submission but in reality the professional ones won't agree do that without doing a bookkeeping. The usual market starting price for bookkeeping is AED 12,000 per year + audit AED 3000 = AED 15,000 extra spend per year if the audit is going to be really required, something that still has to be confirmed.
 
I pay AED 1,890 per year (VAT inc.). Auditor is approved by DMCC.
Do you mind sharing the firm/person who's doing the audit? This seems like a great price

First two audits we paid 1.5k AED, last one we paid 3k AED (due to increase in transaction volume).

We also pay accounting 1.500 AED/quarter.

All amounts are VAT exclusive.
Thanks for your input, very insightful! Do you mind sharing the firm/auditor who's doing it for you if you're satisfied with his work?

Just in case anyone missed it. Scroll to very bottom of link @rowena supplied below. It has actual pricing per monthly transaction amounts. I missed it first time around conf/(%.

https://farahatco.com/services/audit-firms-in-dubai/
Same here, I missed it!

Seems a bit on the expensive side for a marketing firm like mine who might only have 100 client-invoices per month but maybe 500 credit cards expense-transactions every month. Not sure if those expense-transactions count as a "transaction" per say
 
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Do you mind sharing the firm/person who's doing the audit? This seems like a great price


Thanks for your input, very insightful! Do you mind sharing the firm/auditor who's doing it for you if you're satisfied with his work?


Same here, I missed it!

Seems a bit on the expensive side for a marketing firm like mine who might only have 100 client-invoices per month but maybe 500 credit cards expense-transactions every month. Not sure if those expense-transactions count as a "transaction" per say
I am paying AED 6000 + VAT for the audit, with little less transactions but higher turnover
 
Contact Mr Samir Ahmed Shahid at alliottuae.com, +971-50-667-3534 and say that Mr Laszlo introduced you to him. They are doing full accounting, VAT return and auditing so you could negotiate a good price if you do everything through them
 
the op mentioned that they have turnover around 1million aed
my friend who just opened the company will have similar turnover (maybe even less like .8 or .7 mm)
he is struggling to open an account, so i need recommendation for him where to go
 
the op mentioned that they have turnover around 1million aed
my friend who just opened the company will have similar turnover (maybe even less like .8 or .7 mm)
he is struggling to open an account, so i need recommendation for him where to go
As I said above.
Apply to every bank and pick the one which is willing to open.
Ideally have a bunch of documents showing your turnover from old business.

Hold on to your seat, the ride is very though with the banks in UAE and you need good documentation and stamina.

Should you be so lucky to get your account, be prepaired to pay high fees just for going forward.
But at the end, it does seem to work and worth the (very high) efforts initially needed.
 
do you find renting an office mandatory?
he lives in Dubai this year (in serviced(hotel) apartments), banks will allow uploading his tenancy contract, but next year he will probably not have one
do you think bank will ask for renewal of his tenancy contract?
 
question for original poster
where do you bank in dubai with ifza company(which bank)?
Mashreq Neobiz is the simplest one. Will take you about 3 weeks and we have to apply online (They don't accept in-branch application). Make sure you have your CV, corporate stamp, company history, website, past bank statements, etc.

Better to buy your own printer actually and rent a car as you'll need to do a lot of back and forth.

Commercial Bank of Dubai has a new product called CBD Rise Starter which is aimed towards small businesses in Free Zones. You'll need to visit multiple different branches as some won't have any idea of what this is and some will tell you that you need an account with them for at least 3 months before applying (This is a lie, they are just misinformed).

ADCB has the SmartStart account. You'll need to visit multiple branches and someone will end up giving you the WhatsApp number of someone who works at the main corporate center in Sharjah. From there, it takes 3 weeks and it's easy to open if you have all the required documents.

Good luck!