SILVER STONE PARTNERS
Audit & Assurance Services
Built on Real Big 4
Experience
Leveraging 15+ years of Deloitte experience to provide institutional-grade audit
services tailored for UAE SMEs and mid-market enterprises.
UAE Statutory Requirements
Every business in the UAE eventually needs an audit — whether it’s a statutory requirement for your free zone or mainland license, a bank or investor asking for assurance, or your own management wanting a clear, independent view of how well your controls and processes actually work. Silver Stone Partners’ Audit & Assurance practice is led by over 15 years of professional audit experience, beginning at Deloitte, one of the world’s leading audit firms. That background means our audits aren’t just a compliance exercise — they’re conducted with the same rigour, methodology, and professional scepticism used at the highest levels of the profession, brought directly to SME and mid-market businesses in the UAE. We provide two core services: External (Statutory) Audit and Internal Audit — independent from each other, but often most valuable when working together as part of one coherent approach to financial integrity and governance.
External Audit (Statutory)
An external audit is an independent examination of your company's financial statements, conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA), resulting in a formal audit opinion on whether your financial statements present a true and fair view of your business's financial position.
Key Focus Areas
- Regulatory Compliance
- Shareholder Transparency
- Lending/Bank Requirements
Internal Audit
Internal audit is an independent, objective evaluation of your company's internal controls, risk management, and governance processes — designed to help management, not regulators. Where an external audit asks "are the financial statements accurate?", internal audit asks a broader question: "are our processes, controls, and risk management actually working the way they should?"
Key Focus Areas
- Risk Identification
- Process Optimization
- Fraud Prevention
External Audit Excellence
Who needs it
Unlike an internal audit, an external audit is performed by an auditor independent of your company, appointed to give stakeholders — regulators, banks, investors, and free zone authorities — objective assurance that your numbers can be trusted. External audit is a legal or regulatory requirement for most businesses operating in the UAE, including:
Mainland Entities
Audited financial statements are required annually under UAE Commercial Companies Law, and companies must retain books of account for at least 5 years
Free Zone Companies
The vast majority of UAE free zones (including DMCC, JAFZA, DAFZA, DIFC, ADGM, RAKEZ, SHAMS, IFZA, and others) require an annual audit for trade license renewal, active or dormant
Foreign Branches
Audits required by the Ministry of Economy
Corporate Tax
Audited financial statements support your corporate tax filing, and are mandatory for businesses with revenue at or above AED 50 million
Businesses seeking bank financing or investment
Banks and investors routinely require audited financials as part of due diligence
What It Covers
01
Planning & Materiality Determination
Understanding your business, industry, and key risk areas before fieldwork begins
02
Substantive Testing & Analytical Procedures
Testing of financial statement balances, transactions, and disclosures against ISA and IFRS requirements
03
Internal Control Environment Evaluation
Assessment of internal controls relevant to financial reporting
04
Verification of Assets & Liabilities
Verification of revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, and equity in line with applicable accounting standards
05
Audit Opinion & Reporting
A formal, signed audit opinion and report, accepted by free zone authorities, banks, and regulators
06
Management Letter & Recommendations
Clear, practical management letters flagging control weaknesses or improvement areas — not just a pass/fail opinion
Specialised external audit services also available:
- Bank and investor-required audits
- Due diligence audits for mergers, acquisitions, and investment transactions
- Agreed-upon procedures engagements
- Group and consolidated audits for businesses with multiple entities or branches
Why It Matters: An external audit isn’t only a box to tick for license renewal — a properly conducted audit protects your business from regulatory penalties, strengthens your credibility with banks and investors, and often surfaces control weaknesses or reporting gaps before they become bigger problems. A rushed or low-quality audit, by contrast, can create real exposure:
incorrect financial statements filed with a regulator are a liability that follows the business, not the auditor.
Why It Matters: Businesses that only think about controls and risk once a year, at external audit time, are usually the ones surprised by what the external auditor finds. A regular internal audit function catches issues early, strengthens the story you can tell investors and lenders about governance, and — done well — pays for itself by identifying inefficiencies, leakage, or fraud risk long before they become material.
Strategic Internal Audit
Internal audit isn’t typically a legal requirement in the UAE the way statutory audit is, but it’s increasingly expected by boards, investors, and lenders — and it’s one of the most effective tools a growing business has for catching problems before they show up in the year-end numbers.
R
Risk-based internal audit planning
Identifying the areas of your business where risk (financial, operational, or compliance) is highest, and focusing audit effort there
I
Internal controls review
Testing whether the controls your business relies on (approvals, segregation of duties, reconciliations) are actually functioning, not just documented
P
Process and operational audits
Reviewing specific business cycles such as procurement, payroll, inventory, or revenue recognition for efficiency and control gaps
F
Fraud risk assessment
Identifying areas vulnerable to misappropriation or manipulation, and recommending safeguards
C
Compliance audits
Checking adherence to internal policies, contractual obligations, and applicable regulations
I
IT and systems controls review
Assessing access controls, data integrity, and system-level risk relevant to financial and operational processes
O
Outsourced and co-sourced internal audit function
For businesses that don’t have (or don’t yet need) a full-time internal audit department, we act as your internal audit function on a scheduled or project basis
Our Methodical Audit Process
Delivering Big 4 standards through a structured, 5-step engagement.
1
Scoping
Understanding your business, industry, structure, and specific regulatory requirements (free zone, mainland, corporate tax, investor-driven)
2
Risk Assessment
Identifying the areas that matter most for your business, so audit effort is focused where it counts, not spread thin on formalities
3
Fieldwork
Testing, verification, and control evaluation, conducted with minimal disruption to your team’s day-to-day work
4
Draft Findings
Sharing draft observations with management before anything is finalised, so there are no surprises in the final report
5
Final Report
A clear, well-documented report ready for submission to your free zone authority, bank, tax file, or board
Industries We Serve
Our audit approach adapts to how your industry actually operates — not a generic checklist applied to every business:
Real Estate
Trading
Construction
Prof. Services
Retail
Hospitality
Why Businesses Choose Silver Stone Partners for Audit & Assurance
Genuine Big 4 Foundation
Our audit practice is led by someone who trained and worked at Deloitte, bringing the same methodology and standards to businesses that don't need Big 4 pricing to get Big 4-calibre work
One Firm For The Full Financial Picture
Because we also handle bookkeeping, VAT, corporate tax, and AML compliance for many clients, our audits are informed by a genuine understanding of your business, not a one-time engagement with a stranger
Free Zone & Mainland Coverage
Audits accepted across major UAE free zones and mainland jurisdictions
Practical, Not Just Compliant
Every audit comes with clear, actionable recommendations, not just a signed opinion
Confidentiality & Independence
Your financial information is handled with strict confidentiality, and our audit opinions are formed independently without compromise
Frequently Asked Questions
In most cases, yes. Nearly all UAE free zones require an annual audit for license renewal, mainland LLCs must maintain audited financial statements under Commercial Companies Law, and businesses with revenue at or above AED 50 million require audited financials to support their corporate tax filing. We can confirm exactly what applies to your business.
In most UAE free zones, yes — the audit requirement applies regardless of whether the company was actively trading, so long as the license remains active.
An external audit is an independent, typically mandatory examination of your financial statements for regulators, banks, or investors. An internal audit is a broader review of your controls, risk management, and processes, commissioned by management to strengthen the business itself — it isn’t usually a legal requirement, but it’s a strong governance and risk management tool.
Internal audit scales to the size of the business. For an SME, this might mean a focused, periodic review of your highest-risk processes rather than a full internal audit department — which is exactly the kind of outsourced, right-sized service we provide.
It depends on the size and complexity of your business, but most SME statutory audits are completed within a few weeks once documentation is provided, and we work to your free zone renewal or filing deadline.
Yes. We regularly conduct audits and due diligence engagements specifically requested by banks, investors, or potential acquirers as part of financing or transaction processes.
Our audits are conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISA), with financial statements assessed against IFRS or applicable UAE accounting requirements.
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