Internal Audit Services in Dubai – Outsourced & Co-Sourced

Internal audit tests whether your controls actually work: whether cash, stock, payroll and purchasing are protected, whether your policies are followed, and where money or compliance is at risk. AEY Auditing of Accounts provides outsourced and co-sourced internal audit in Dubai for owner-managed businesses, free zone and mainland companies, and group subsidiaries. You get a risk-based plan, tested evidence and a report your management can act on.

Do you need internal audit?

Your situation	Internal audit needed?
Public joint-stock company (PJSC)	Yes. SCA governance rules require an internal audit system and a department that runs it
Bank, insurer or other regulated entity	Follow your regulator's rules. We can support the function
Subsidiary of a larger group	Often required by the parent's policy
Lender, investor or buyer has asked for a controls review	Usually yes, for that purpose
Mainland or free zone SME	Not normally mandatory. Owners choose it to protect cash, stock and reputation

Signs it is time

What we review

Area	Typical checks
Purchasing and payables	Vendor set-up, approvals, duplicate payments, three-way matching. See payables audit
Sales and receivables	Pricing, credit limits, revenue cut-off, collection follow-up. See revenue audit
Cash and banking	Reconciliations, signatory limits, petty cash. See bank reconciliation issues
Inventory	Count procedures, valuation, slow-moving stock. See stock audit
Fixed assets	Register accuracy, existence, disposals. See asset verification
Payroll and HR	Ghost employees, overtime, end-of-service calculations, WPS records
Expenses	Claims, receipts, authority limits
Governance	Delegation of authority, segregation of duties, related-party dealings
Systems	Access rights, ERP controls, audit trail. See audit trail requirements
Compliance	AML, VAT and corporate tax processes. See compliance audit and AML services

Choose how we work with you

Model	What it means	Best for
Outsourced	We act as your internal audit function: plan, test, report and follow up	Companies with no internal audit team
Co-sourced	We work with your team and add skills or capacity	Teams that need specialist help or peaks
One-off review	A single process or event, such as payroll, stock or a branch	After an incident, before a sale or a loan, or when a new finance head starts
Function set-up	We write the charter, risk map and annual plan, then hand over	Growing companies hiring their first internal auditor
Audit readiness review	A controls check before your external auditor arrives. See audit readiness support	Businesses with messy year-ends

How an internal audit runs

Our guide to risk assessment and internal control design shows how we think about controls.

What a finding looks like

Illustrative example — findings are delivered in plain language, with evidence referenced.

Finding	Risk	Rating	Recommendation	Owner & due date
The same employee creates vendors and approves their payments	A fake vendor could be paid without detection	High	Separate vendor creation from payment approval. Review the vendor list monthly	Finance manager, [date]
Stock counts are not reconciled to the ledger	Stock may be misstated, and losses go unnoticed	Medium	Count quarterly and reconcile differences within seven days	Operations head, [date]
Bank reconciliations lack a reviewer signature	Errors and misuse stay hidden	Low	Add reviewer sign-off and dates	Accountant, [date]

What you receive

How internal audit helps your external audit and tax position

Good controls shorten your annual audit. Your external auditor spends less time on queries and the risk of a qualified opinion falls. Our audit preparation guide and common audit problems show where businesses lose time. If you are a Qualifying Free Zone Person, clean records also protect the evidence behind your 0% claim. See our QFZP corporate tax exemption guide.

Can your external auditor also do your internal audit?

For a deeper look at how the two engagements differ, read external vs internal audit in Dubai. For the related service page, see Audit & Assurance.

Time and cost

Internal audits vary more than statutory audits, so we price after a short scoping call.

Engagement	Typical shape	Fee
One-off process review	One area or event	From AED 1500
Annual co-sourced or outsourced plan	Several reviews across the year	From AED 2000
Function set-up	Charter, risk map and plan	From AED 5000

Price moves with the number of processes, branches and staff, transaction volume, system complexity, reporting depth and how fast you need the report.

How to choose an internal audit provider

Why AEY

[Add years in practice or client count only if verified.] Meet the team on our about page.

Editorial Review & Professional Credentials

This page was prepared by AEY Auditing's technical review team and reviewed for accuracy against current UAE licensing-authority guidance and the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards before publication.

Frequently asked questions