Future of auditing in UAE discussed at roundtable

The Future of the Audit, a roundtable gathering focused on how the auditing industry is prepared to meet the evolving needs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) economy, recently was held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Organized by the international assurance and advisory firm Grant Thornton and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the event was attended by some of the largest leading businesses in the UAE. Attendees noted that the role of auditing must include a "trusted adviser" approach whereby the auditor becomes a strategic partner. Read more

Now the new challenges are introduced for the future of auditing in UAE which includes technology, moving from old financial statements to coordinate reporting and the fact that one standard report won't meet the requirements of all the various. Grant Thornton and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has launched this event for rising the economy of UAE and for developing the standards of auditing firms in UAE.

The future of Audit is set to transform in the UAE, leading way to change say Grant Thornton and ACCA

Dubai - Grant Thornton, a leading international assurance and advisory firm and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the leading global professional accountancy body hosted a number of key influencers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi at an event titled "The Future of Audit", which set out to find how the audit environment is set to change to meet the evolving needs of the UAE economy.

The UAE has a diverse economy which is challenging international markets, but what does this mean for companies and their audited financial statements? What regulations and legislations are taking place globally and locally further promoting change within the industry? These are some of the questions that the audience addressed during the insightful discussion that was attended by some of the largest leading businesses in the UAE.

The roundtable found that the independence and strength of the audit committee is key and that the overall strategy of the business should be digested to further drive the way forward for the benefit of the organization, which will also allow the committee to recognize any lapses in control. The audience also touched on the practical challenges of the upcoming long form report with regulators looking to hold awareness sessions to address this concern. Read more

Now the UAE is becoming number one economy identified by the world over for exceptional expectations and innovating the longer term. People of UAE have a mindset that an auditor is the most trustworthy person who helps their companies to increase their financial growth and solve any complex issue which may arise. It could be a great challenge for auditing firms in UAE to improve their standards.

MOVES-Standard Chartered audit head to become UAE chief executive

DUBAI, July 27 (Reuters) - Standard Chartered has picked Julian Wynter, group head of internal audit, as United Arab Emirates chief executive, two sources told Reuters on Monday.

Wynter is likely to take charge in August after the departure of current UAE Chief Executive Mohsin Nathani, who resigned from the bank in April, said one of the sources.

A spokesman for the bank declined to comment, saying the appointment of Nathani's replacement had yet to be announced internally.

Wynter is currently group head of internal audit but was previously chief executive and managing director of the bank's Malaysia business. Read More

Now the Chief executive has plans to change the fortunes of Standard Chartered, which is usually facing problems from U.S regulators for misconduct, plunging commodities prices and a weakened trading environment. Now we can say that new audit head will helps in growth UAE audit companies through introducing new reforms.

Now, a special investment channel for the UAE

After 'Japan Plus' and 'Korea Plus', the government is mulling another separate investment desk exclusively for funds flowing in from the Arab Sheikhdom, to tap the latter’s $800-billion sovereign wealth fund. This is in addition to the UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund which Prime Minister Narendra Modi said would be set up with a corpus of $75 billion.

The government has not made the time-period explicit over which this $75 billion will be spread. The amount is meant to be utilised in developing railways, ports, roads, airports and industrial corridors and parks across India.  Over the past 15 years, the UAE has invested only $3 billion, accounting for a paltry 1.2 per cent of the country’s total foreign direct investment inflows of $249 billion.

“These are just feel-good numbers. Where is the capacity to absorb such numbers? We need to have a systematic change in terms of rules and regulatory measures to be able to attract such investments. Read More

According to the Joint Statement of India-UAE, both countries will seek forward towards the growth of bilateral trade by 60% in 2020. Now UAE becomes India’s third largest trade partner accounting for 8%. This Change will definitely prove helpful for improving accounting standards in both countries.

New auditing standards to help regain trust in the profession

Without trust, there can be no growth. Although the auditing profession has played a significant role in establishing trust for centuries, in the wake of the global financial crisis, concerns have been raised about relevance and the value of auditors’ work.

While our work allows us to express opinions on the fairness of financial information presented to stakeholders, we also gain significant insights into the business and operations of the companies we audit. But these insights never reach the users of financial statements, because our opinions are binary in nature. Either pass or fail.

These factors coupled with ever evolving stakeholder needs have resulted in calls for enhanced auditor reporting. In response, the International Federation of Accountants has introduced new auditing standards, requiring auditors to add more information. This standard will become effective from December next year in the UAE and auditors of all listed companies will have to comply with the standards. Read more

As we see that it is the first step towards upgrade auditor reporting, it is believed that the new and revised standards are expected to have an intense affect on corporate governance and accounting profession in UAE.

Audit committee effectiveness comes from members understanding their roles

The workload of the audit committee has experienced a steady rise over the years – particularly for listed companies or those in the regulated sector.

This comes amid a growing realization by firms that accountability is one of the keys to success.

Among publicly listed companies, the discussion about good governance began with the publication of the Cadbury Report in the UK in 1992, the first governance code internationally. In many countries, specific codes and regulations for governance followed. Today, nearly all countries have a governance code, but these are mainly for publicly listed companies.

Regulatory agencies worldwide and in the Middle East acknowledge that risk management and compliance are integral features of a successful business model and have turned their full attentions toward raising the standards across the financial services industry for corporate governance and risk management systems. Read more

The audit committee had burdened over the years about workload specially for listed companies and prioritizing issues is a battle given the constantly changing developments in global risk, regulation and political environments. But now this adoption must be proof useful to the auditors in UAE.

UAE accountants welcome new auditing law

Senior accounting and auditing bodies have welcomed a new federal law setting high standards for registered auditors in the UAE, saying that it will contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE, signed federal law No 12 of 2014 concerning the audit profession in December.

The law sets strict guidelines for the licensing of auditing firms and professionals, with would-be auditors obliged to hold at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting, or an equivalent qualification.

“In the past almost anyone could come and be an auditor,” said Salem El Esaye, the executive manager of the UAE Accountants and Auditors Association.

“It used to be that you could become an auditor if you had an engineering degree, now with the new law you need a degree in accounting. It’s now changing for the better.” Read more

 UAE Accountants and Auditors Association had declared that each auditor will be must go through professional training to keep on qualified. Authority has believe that it will surely help in economic growth of UAE and after appointing professional auditors by each firm, it will definitely help to  increase the fame of UAE auditing and accounting firms. 

UAE ranks #1 for auditors

The UAE Internal Audit Association (UAE-IAA), the local body affiliated to the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA-Global), has announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has topped all Middle Eastern countries in terms of the number of internal auditors who obtained CRMA (Certification in Risk Management Assurance), a prestigious international certificate which allows audit practitioners to provide advice and assurance to audit committees and executive management.

UAE Internal Audit Association also announced that the deadline for receiving applications for the CRMA was extended until the end of March due to the high demand.

According to the UAE Internal Audit Association, the UAE has also ranked fourth worldwide, preceded only by the United States, Canada and the People’s Republic of China, in the number of internal auditors who hold CRMA certifications. Read more

UAE placed No #1 rank in Middle Eastern Countries with the unique policies and strategies of their auditing companies.

Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority inaugurates the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board meeting 2013 in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi 10th March 2013: Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) – an independent body mandated to oversee transparency and accountability across Abu Dhabi Government – inaugurated today the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) meeting with an opening conference held in Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi where the meeting will take place until the 14th March.

The United Arab Emirates spearheaded all Arab countries by hosting the IPSASB meeting in Abu Dhabi for the first time. More than 200 professionals from the Accounting Profession around the world registered to attend making it the largest ever gathering of accounting professionals at an IPSASB meeting since it started in 1987.

This meeting will be attended by IPSAS board members, technical advisors and observers from International bodies such as the IMF, OECD, INTOSAI, IFAC, the World Bank, etc… In addition to representatives from the local and regional audit Firms and accounting professionals from the UAE’s public sector. Read more

Chairman of Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) had declared in his speech that:- This event could be a platform for public entities and different interested parties to make bridges with the IPSAS Board and discuss the pressing accounting considerations that public entities face these days. it'll conjointly facilitate to grasp their add developing the most effective public sector Accounting Standards and for U.S. to debate however best to implement those standards.” AADA believes that it will be a great revolution for UAE accounting Firms.

New audit regulation in Abu Dhabi leads the way to change

 The new regulation stipulates a four year audit rotation for ADAA regulated clients

The notion of transparency and rotation has been a long standing debate in relation to the audit market both within the UAE and globally. More recently, there have been developments in relation to this in the EU with the recent audit reforms which were introduced to promote transparency and fairness. This debate led way to many other emerging economies that begun to embrace the notion of the need for such reforms especially in countries where commercial decisions are predominately relationship focused.

In many economies having audited financial statements is a mandatory requirement. The auditor is required to be independent from the management team and board to ensure they remain equitable and can provide a precise, compromised and comprehensive view of the company’s financial position. Over time a working relationship is established in which some cases can translate further. These relationships can transpire beyond 30 years especially within a family owned business where the relationship is passed from one generation to the next, equally the same could be said for a corporation where the audit relationship has been established for years and therefore, change isn’t seen as necessary... read more

In this regulation Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) has declared  that it is necessary for any company regulated by ADAA to change their auditors after each four years. This variation has been taken to additional promote transparency and answerability within the UAE auditing companies.