How to choose your Auditor or Audit Firm in UAE

Why this is important for you:

Our firm has been in the audit industry for over three decades, making us one of the pioneering audit firms in UAE. Many small businesses really don’t know what to look out for in an auditor/ This results in most companies seeking out the cheapest option. Keep in mind you are not looking for a commodity, you would not look for the cheapest doctor, would you? In many ways your auditor is like a doctor to your business and a trusted advisor. Reputed audit firms will never be the cheapest option, but will not charge you an arm and leg for their services.

However, the smaller and medium-sized firms in UAE, will normally be more reasonable as compared to the large audit firms and will be able to provide a more personalized level of service. So you need to think about why you are doing the audit, if you want to have some value add out of this, it is best to stay away from the cheapest auditors.

So let's go through some things you should consider, other than budget, before selecting an auditor that works for you.

1) Number of years of experience

A key point to look into is how long the audit firm has been serving clients. The more experienced the audit firm, the more valuable insights and advice you will receive. They will also have a wealth of practical knowledge on how businesses are conducted in your Jurisdiction. Therefore will be able to provide practical solutions for business problems you may face.

2) Experience in your industry

Hiring an audit firm that already has experience in your industry will be incredibly useful. As they would know practically the challenges you would face, and be able to advise you appropriately. Keep in mind most reputed firms will not share their entire client list due to confidentiality reasons. However, they would be willing to share the industries they work with and also few client names, after taking prior consent.

3) Hiring through a Reference

Hiring an audit firm through a referral of a friend or colleague would be the best case scenario. The ability to get feedback from your contact on how good the auditor is will save you a lot of trouble. Keep in mind, hiring an auditor you can trust is very important as they would have access to all your confidential financial information.

4) International

If you have plans to go global, or already have an international presence, trying to hire an auditor with a good international network will be useful. They will then be easily able to provide specialized local advice. You could also then just depend on one network to complete the entire audit for you

5) Quality

It is also good to see if team members of the firm are qualified and experienced. Most good audit firms have quality control systems in place, to ensure that the audit conducted is of the highest standards. Many have now begun to use technology to improve the quality of their work.

6) End to end support

Find out what services they provide other than just an audit. Most audit firms provide tax, outsourced CFO & accounting,M&A, consultancy, and other advisory services. Also find out the different types of audit services they provide. This way you will know if you can depend on them for any of your future end-to-end financial requirements.

7) Registered with necessary authorities

To be qualified auditors in any country involves being certified by the local authorities to conduct an audit. For this the partner of the firm must meet specific educational and experience requirements. Those who haven't been certified by the relevant ministry (for example - Ministry of Economy in UAE) are not licensed to conduct an audit. Make sure to approach only licensed firms.If you have a very specific reason for conducting an audit, like submitting to a bank, or a specific regulatory authority, it will be a good idea to verify if they have a specific list of auditors whose report they will accept. Most reputed firms will be listed in most places.

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