Financial Reporting — Statutory Audit Support
A statutory audit is a genuinely different relationship than day-to-day accounting — an external auditor needs a specific evidence trail, and a finance function that's never prepared for one discovers the gap only once the auditor starts asking questions. FMCA prepares the audit file, liaises with the external auditor directly, and closes queries before they become delays.
Reviewed by FMCA's Senior Accounting Advisory Team — supporting SME finance functions across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Four areas of work, from file preparation through to closing queries as they arise.
The general ledger, supporting schedules and reconciliations organized to the standard an external auditor actually expects, ahead of the engagement starting.
Direct liaison with the appointed external auditor throughout the engagement, so queries are answered promptly rather than routed through several people.
Documentation gaps and auditor queries resolved as they arise, not accumulated into a backlog that stalls sign-off.
For businesses facing their first statutory audit, a structured readiness review ahead of the auditor's first request list.
An audit finds gaps regardless — the only question is whether they surface before or during the engagement.
A general ledger and supporting schedules that aren't audit-ready extend the engagement timeline and the auditor's fee alongside it.
Auditor queries that sit unanswered for days at a time are the single biggest driver of audit delays.
A business facing its first statutory audit without knowing what evidence will actually be requested discovers gaps mid-engagement, when it's hardest to fix them.
Audit readiness depends on what's already in place — see Bookkeeping & Outsourced Accounting for the groundwork underneath it.
Both involve reviewing the same numbers, but the standard of evidence behind them is genuinely different.
Our Approach
Most audit delays trace back to a file that was good enough for internal use but not for an external auditor's evidence standard. FMCA prepares the file to that standard upfront and liaises directly with the auditor, so queries get closed quickly instead of piling up.
How We Work
Illustrative scenarios based on the kind of work we do — not descriptions of specific named clients.
A structured readiness review was completed ahead of a business's first-ever statutory audit, well before the auditor's first request list arrived.
An accumulated backlog of unanswered auditor queries was resolved through direct liaison, unblocking an audit sign-off that had stalled for weeks.
The audit file was organized well ahead of schedule to support a lender's own due diligence timeline running alongside the statutory audit.
Related Insights
FAQ
No — a statutory audit is conducted by an independent external auditor and produces a formal audited opinion, a different standard from internal bookkeeping review.
Requirements vary by jurisdiction and company type — mainland companies and many free zone entities have audit obligations, worth confirming for your specific structure.
It varies by business size and how audit-ready the records are — a well-prepared file materially shortens the timeline.
No — FMCA supports and liaises on the audit process; the statutory audit itself is performed by an independent external auditor, keeping the two roles properly separated.
Unresolved queries can delay or qualify the audit opinion, which is why prompt, complete responses matter throughout the engagement.
Tell us where things stand and a senior consultant will get back to you directly — not a call centre.
