From the Inside Out.
“The best audit is a boring audit. If your auditors are surprised, you were not prepared. We make sure there are no surprises.”
— Finerio Assurance Practice
Audit-Ready, Every Year
Every company above a certain size in the UAE is required to have its financial statements audited by an independent external auditor. The audit process involves the auditor examining your accounting records, testing transactions, reviewing disclosures, and issuing an opinion on whether your financials present a true and fair view.
Many finance teams find audits stressful, time-consuming, and expensive — often because they are not properly prepared. Auditors raise queries, request documents, identify errors, and propose adjustments that disrupt operations for weeks.
Finerio's Audit Support Service changes that dynamic. We prepare your finance team and your financial records for audit — resolving technical issues in advance, preparing the documentation auditors need, and acting as the liaison between your team and your audit firm throughout the process.
Many names for the same essential audit readiness work
Audit support is called by different names depending on whether it is pre-audit preparation, during-audit assistance, or post-audit follow-through.
Audit Support Services
We help you prepare for, navigate through, and complete your annual audit — faster and with fewer disruptions.
Activities
Across
the Audit Cycle
Hard Close & Pre-Audit Accounts Prep
3–4 months before year-end, we prepare a hard close — complete accounts through the penultimate period — so auditors can begin interim work early, shortening the year-end audit window significantly.
Year-End Trial Balance & Reconciliations
Within days of year-end, we finalise the trial balance and prepare reconciliations for every balance sheet account — cash, receivables, payables, fixed assets, provisions, equity — with full supporting evidence.
Draft Financial Statement Preparation
We prepare a complete set of draft financial statements in IFRS format — including all notes and disclosures — ready for auditor review before fieldwork begins.
PBC List Coordination
As soon as auditors issue their "Prepared by Client" request list, we manage the entire response — allocating each item, setting internal deadlines, and tracking completion to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Technical Query Response
For accounting judgement queries — provisions, revenue recognition, impairment, ECL — we prepare formal written responses supported by technical accounting memos and relevant standard citations.
Audit Adjustment Review
We review every proposed audit adjustment — evaluating materiality, technical basis, and commercial impact — and advise management on which to accept and which to challenge.
Management Representation Letter Review
We review the management representation letter required by auditors before sign-off — ensuring representations are accurate, appropriate, and not inadvertently creating exposure.
Final Financial Statement Review
A final quality review of the signed financial statements — checking for consistency between primary statements and notes, correct presentation, and accuracy of comparatives.
Post-Audit Debrief & Improvement Plan
After sign-off, we conduct a debrief with your finance team — documenting lessons learned, identifying process improvements, and preparing an action plan to make next year's audit even smoother.
Auditor Selection Advisory
For companies changing auditors, we assist in selecting the right audit firm for your size, industry, and jurisdiction — preparing the tender brief and evaluating proposals on your behalf.
Questions we hear from clients every week.
Everything you need to know about audit support services — answered simply.
An unprepared audit is an expensive, disruptive, and embarrassing experience. Auditors charge by the hour — every hour they spend chasing documents, resolving unexplained differences, or researching technical issues that you should have resolved in advance is a cost to you. More importantly, an unprepared audit creates risk — of material misstatement adjustments, late sign-off, qualified opinions, and damaged relationships with investors and regulators. Preparation is the single most cost-effective investment you can make in your audit process.
PBC stands for "Prepared by Client" — the list of documents and information your auditors request from your finance team. It typically contains 50 to 200+ individual items, ranging from bank statements and contracts to complex accounting analyses. Poorly managed PBC lists are one of the primary causes of audit delays. We manage the full PBC process — distributing items to the right people, chasing timely responses, reviewing quality before submission, and providing a live tracker so nothing is missed.
Yes — this is one of our most common engagement triggers. When auditors raise a technical issue (e.g., challenging your revenue recognition approach, your provisioning policy, or your lease accounting), you need independent expert support to evaluate the challenge and respond effectively. We research the applicable standard, prepare a formal technical accounting memo supporting your position, and assist in presenting the argument to your audit team. We have successfully resolved hundreds of such disputes on behalf of clients.
Under IAS 1, management must assess at each reporting date whether the company is a "going concern" — i.e., whether it has the resources and intent to continue operating for at least 12 months. If there are doubts (e.g., net liabilities, cash flow pressures, upcoming debt maturities), these must be disclosed and, in extreme cases, the accounts must be prepared on a basis other than going concern. Auditors scrutinise going concern carefully. We help management prepare a robust going concern assessment with supporting cash flow analysis and board documentation.
Ideally, 3 to 4 months before your financial year-end — allowing time for a hard close, early identification of complex accounting issues, and pre-audit preparation. However, we can engage at any point in the process, including mid-audit if your team is overwhelmed or has encountered a technical dispute. Even post-audit engagement to remediate findings and prepare for the following year is valuable. The earlier, the cheaper and smoother the outcome.
Yes. We work alongside all external audit firms — Big 4, Grant Thornton, BDO, Crowe, and local UAE firms. Our role is to represent your interests as management's advisor — not to work for or against any particular audit firm. We understand audit methodologies and documentation standards across all major firms, which means our workpapers are presented in a format auditors find familiar and easy to rely on, minimising back-and-forth and accelerating sign-off.
Facing an audit soon?
Whether you're preparing months in advance or an audit has just started, we can step in and make a meaningful difference to the outcome. Let's talk.