Risk Assessment
We map where your business is actually exposed: cash handling, procurement, revenue recognition, related-party transactions. The audit plan follows the risk, not a template.
Find the problems before they find you
Internal Audit Services in Dubai
External auditors check your books once a year and tell you what went wrong. Internal audit is the opposite: an independent look inside your business while there is still time to fix things. Our internal audit services in Dubai give owners and boards an honest picture of risks, weak controls and money leaking through the cracks, with practical recommendations you can actually act on.
IndependentAn outside view your own team cannot give you
Risk-basedWe start where the real exposure is, not with checklists
ActionableFindings with fixes, owners and timelines
What is included
A proper internal audit covers six areas
Scoped to your business. No boilerplate reports that could belong to any company.
Internal Controls Review
Approval workflows, segregation of duties, access rights in your systems. We test whether the controls you think exist actually work when someone tries to bypass them.
Compliance Checks
VAT, corporate tax, WPS and labour law compliance reviewed against current FTA and MOHRE requirements. Gaps get flagged before they become penalties.
Operational Audits
Inventory, procurement and payroll processes examined for waste and inefficiency. Most companies bleed 2 to 5% of revenue through processes nobody ever questioned.
Fraud Detection
Forensic-style testing of high-risk areas: duplicate payments, ghost employees, inflated supplier invoices, unauthorized discounts. Discreet, evidence-based, documented.
Audit Reporting
A clear report written for owners, not auditors: what we found, why it matters in dirhams, and exactly what to fix, in what order, with who responsible.
Why outsource it
Your own team cannot audit itself
That is the whole logic behind internal audit outsourcing services. An in-house accountant auditing their own work will find what they want to find. An outsourced internal audit team has no relationships to protect and no history to defend. We ask the uncomfortable questions because that is literally the job.
There is also a cost argument. A qualified internal auditor in Dubai costs AED 12,000 to 18,000 a month before visa and benefits, and most SMEs need that skill set for a few weeks a year, not fifty-two. Outsourcing gives you senior audit expertise on demand, with none of the payroll.
Who needs it
Internal audit is not just for big corporates
Groups with multiple branches or entities, where the owner cannot watch everything personally. Businesses preparing for external audit, investment or sale, where clean controls raise valuation and speed up due diligence. Companies that had a scare: a fraud discovered by accident, an FTA penalty that revealed broken processes, a partner dispute over the numbers.
And frankly, any business where one person controls too much. If the same employee raises purchase orders, approves them and processes the payments, you do not have a control environment. You have trust. Trust is lovely, but it is not an internal control.
How it works
From scoping call to action plan
A focused engagement, typically two to six weeks depending on scope.
Scoping & risk review
We interview key staff, review your processes and financials, then agree the audit scope in writing. You know exactly what we will test before we start.
Fieldwork
Testing, sampling and interviews, done with minimal disruption to your team. We work around your month-end, not through it.
Report & follow-up
Findings presented with quantified impact and a prioritized fix list. We follow up after 90 days to check the fixes actually happened.
Internal audit FAQs
Questions about internal audit in Dubai
What is the difference between internal audit and external audit?
External audit is a statutory check on your financial statements, usually once a year, and the auditor reports to shareholders. Internal audit works for management throughout the year: it examines controls, operations and compliance, and its job is to improve the business, not just certify the accounts. Companies that only do external audit find out about problems a year too late.
How much do internal audit services cost in Dubai?
It depends on scope: a focused review of one process area costs far less than a full risk-based audit of the whole business. As a rough guide, outsourced internal audit engagements for SMEs typically run AED 15,000 to 60,000 depending on complexity. After a scoping call we quote a fixed fee in writing.
Is internal audit mandatory in the UAE?
For most private companies, no. Some free zones and regulated sectors require it, and banks increasingly ask for internal audit reports when extending larger facilities. Even where it is not mandatory, it is often the cheapest insurance a growing business can buy.
Can you do internal audit if you also handle our accounting?
Yes, with proper safeguards: different team members, separate reporting lines, and the audit scope agreed with you upfront. Many clients prefer one firm for both because we already understand their systems. If you need fully independent assurance, say for investors, we will tell you and can recommend alternatives.
What does an internal audit report look like?
Ours are written for owners, not technicians. Each finding states what we found, why it matters in dirhams, the risk rating, and a specific recommendation with a suggested owner and timeline. No fifty-page documents that nobody reads.
How often should internal audit be done?
High-risk areas annually, the full risk-based cycle every two to three years for most SMEs. After the first audit establishes the baseline, follow-up reviews are faster and cheaper because we are testing fixes, not discovering everything from scratch.
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Ready when you are
Know what is really going on inside
Start with a scoping call. We will discuss your risks, recommend an audit scope, and quote a fixed fee. No obligation, and you will learn something about your business in the first thirty minutes.
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