E-commerce · Digital trade · Dubai, UAE

Dubai CommerCity audit services

Clear financial reporting for connected commerce.

Brainstorm Chartered Accountants supports Dubai CommerCity businesses with external audit, audited financial statements and IFRS reporting, alongside separately scoped QFZP, Corporate Tax and VAT support.

Our approach follows your sales channels, settlements, inventory, cross-border transactions and reporting purpose.

Request a CommerCity audit quote Explore audit support

Connected business information supporting Dubai CommerCity financial reporting

Digital-commerce focusPlatforms, settlements and financial records

Financial reportingAudited accounts and supporting evidence

Audit and taxDistinct scopes with independence safeguards

Report verificationReference checks for issued reports

Professional Dubai CommerCity audit support

More than a signed
year-end report.

Online sales, marketplaces, payment processors, fulfilment partners and overseas suppliers can create complex reporting flows. Audit planning should reflect the actual business model.

Professional discussion and document review for a business engagement

Follow the transaction.

Connect orders, settlements, refunds and bank receipts to the accounting records.

Speak to an audit and tax expert

What can the audit cover?

Financial statements, ledgers, revenue, gateway settlements, banks, receivables, payables, inventory, assets, foreign currencies and related parties, according to risk and materiality.

Why is digital commerce different?

Sales and cash may pass through multiple platforms. Refunds, commissions, chargebacks, delivery adjustments and settlement timing can affect reported revenue and balances.

Which business models are relevant?

E-commerce, trading, distribution, logistics, technology and professional services, with procedures tailored to the company’s actual activity and financial risks.

Can audit and tax be coordinated?

Relevant records can be coordinated through separately scoped engagements, subject to acceptance procedures and appropriate auditor-independence safeguards.

DIEZ accounts and auditor requirements

Confirm your legal form.
Plan the reporting process.

Dubai CommerCity operates within the DIEZ framework. Confirm the current obligations and filing process for the entity before work begins.

Accounts and filing

The DIEZ Implementing Regulations 2023 include FZCO requirements for audited accounts and filing accounts with an auditor’s report. Confirm the applicable process for your legal form and circumstances.

Records and audit evidence

The regulations address the adequacy of accounting records and their agreement with the accounts. Maintain reconciled information throughout the year.

QFZP reporting

Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 requires a Qualifying Free Zone Person to prepare and maintain audited financial statements, irrespective of revenue level.

Review the DIEZ Implementing Regulations and the audited financial statements decision. Confirm current authority instructions and the relevant reporting period.

Auditor appointment

Check the credentials.
Confirm authority acceptance.

Select the professional firm for the intended filing and engagement, with current eligibility checked before appointment.

Professional Audit Services for Dubai CommerCity Companies

Brainstorm Chartered Accountants provides professional Dubai CommerCity audit services for businesses requiring external audit, audited financial statements, IFRS reporting, financial-record review and coordinated UAE tax support.

Brainstorm is a UAE licensed audit firm and an FTA Approved Tax Agent, providing audit and tax services under appropriately separated professional scopes.

Request a Dubai CommerCity Audit Quote

What management should check

Legal identity and UAE audit credentials.
Relevant authority approval where required.
Authorised signatory and professional experience.
Independence, scope, fee boundaries and deliverables.
Tax-agent credentials and appointment for representation.
Report-verification arrangements.

Our Dubai CommerCity audit services

Focused procedures.
A connected financial picture.

Choose a service to reach its details. Procedures are designed around assessed risks, materiality and the evidence relevant to the company.

01 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

Annual external audit and IFRS reporting

Financial statements supported by evidence

Independently examine financial statements and material accounting information under the applicable reporting framework.

Risk-based audit planning and engagement assessment.
Trial balance and general ledger review.
Accounting policies, estimates, presentation and disclosures.
Reporting after completion of required procedures.

Management remains responsible for the accounts. Preparation assistance and independent assurance require suitable scope boundaries and safeguards.

Discuss an external audit

02 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

E-commerce revenue and refunds

Completeness, recognition and cut-off

Review selected transactions across websites, applications, marketplaces and other sales channels. Trace material differences into the accounting records.

Order and platform sales reports.
Returns, refunds, discounts and delivery adjustments.
Marketplace commissions and deductions.
Revenue recognition, completeness and period-end cut-off.

Discuss e-commerce audit support

03 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

Payment gateways and bank reconciliations

From settlements to cash received

Reconcile material gateway, processor and marketplace settlements with accounting balances and bank receipts.

Settlement reports, bank deposits and clearing accounts.
Processing fees, withheld amounts and reserves.
Chargebacks, refunds and settlement timing.
Unresolved differences and relevant foreign currencies.

Review settlement reconciliations

04 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

Inventory and fulfilment records

Stock held across the trading network

Plan procedures around material stock, warehouse locations, fulfilment providers and available quantity and valuation evidence.

Inventory listings, movements and count records.
Third-party warehouses and fulfilment documentation.
Valuation, obsolescence and provisions.
Goods in transit, returns and cut-off.

Plan inventory procedures

05 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

Purchases, imports, exports and logistics

Cross-border transaction evidence

Test selected purchasing, freight and international trade transactions in the context of the business model.

Supplier invoices, contracts and expenses.
Customs, import, export and re-export records.
Freight, warehousing and delivery costs.
Recognition, classification and transaction cut-off.

Discuss trade audit requirements

06 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

Receivables, payables and working capital

Customer and supplier balances

Review material customer accounts, supplier liabilities, accruals and relevant financing balances.

Receivable and payable schedules.
Ageing and supporting customer or supplier evidence.
Subsequent receipts and payments.
Loan documents, accruals and potential omissions.

Review working-capital balances

07 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

Fixed assets and software costs

Assets and expenditure supporting operations

Review material additions, disposals, depreciation and relevant software or technology expenditure under the applicable accounting framework.

Fixed-asset register and ledger reconciliation.
Ownership and supporting purchase documentation.
Depreciation, impairment and disposal records.
Software-related recognition and significant estimates.

Discuss asset reporting

09 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

Corporate Tax and VAT reconciliation

Explain accounting and tax differences

Where separately within scope, compare financial figures with Corporate Tax and VAT information. The figures need to be reconcilable, not necessarily identical.

Timing, refunds and marketplace deductions.
Tax adjustments, provisions and depreciation.
VAT treatment, foreign exchange and related parties.
Free-zone tax treatment and supporting reconciliations.

A financial statement audit does not determine QFZP eligibility or replace a separate tax computation.

Discuss financial and tax reconciliation

10 / Dubai CommerCity audit support

Management observations and report verification

Completion, findings and authenticity

Communicate relevant observations arising from the audit, resolve outstanding matters and complete the professional reporting process.

Accounting and control observations.
Management queries, evidence and proposed adjustments.
Final financial statements and reporting procedures.
Online reference checks for reports issued by Brainstorm.

Verify an audit report

Digital-commerce reconciliations

Connect the sale
to the cash received.

A clear transaction trail helps explain differences between reported sales, settlement balances and bank receipts.

Orders and platforms

Match customer orders and channel reports with recorded sales and the relevant reporting period.

Refunds and deductions

Identify returns, discounts, commissions, chargebacks and delivery adjustments.

Processor settlements

Reconcile settlement reports, fees, reserves and amounts awaiting payment.

Books and banks

Trace net deposits and outstanding balances into ledgers and bank reconciliations.

Audit planning by business model

Different operations.
Different financial risks.

E-commerce, trading, logistics and service companies require attention to different transaction flows and material balances.

E-commerce and marketplace sellers

Revenue completeness, returns, gateway settlements, marketplace deductions, stock movements and channel-to-ledger reconciliation.

Trading and distribution

Inventory, customs records, imports, exports, re-exports, goods in transit, freight, foreign currencies, customers and suppliers.

Logistics and fulfilment

Warehouse records, freight costs, fulfilment providers, overseas suppliers, customer settlements and cross-border documentation.

Technology and professional services

Service and subscription revenue, deferred and accrued income, software costs, payroll, intellectual property, overseas clients and related parties.

Qualifying Free Zone Person assessment

Free-zone location
is not a tax conclusion.

A Dubai CommerCity company should assess its activities, income and commercial model before adopting a QFZP position.

Entity and actual activities

Review legal status, actual operations, sources of income and Qualifying or Excluded Activities. Use transaction evidence rather than the licence description alone.

Customers and revenue

Consider free-zone, mainland, overseas, related-party and individual customers. Review revenue classifications and applicable non-qualifying revenue limits.

Substance and compliance

Assess operational presence, employees, expenditure, assets, transfer pricing, audited financial statements and the proposed tax return treatment.

Digital-commerce structures

Multiple channels, consumer sales, marketplaces, overseas suppliers and fulfilment centres can affect the analysis. Align the review with actual transaction flows.

Related parties and transfer pricing

Identify management fees, shared technology and marketing costs, intercompany financing, inventory transfers, service fees and intellectual-property charges. Maintain appropriate supporting documentation.

The formal Corporate Tax term is Qualifying Free Zone Person. Audited accounts are one requirement, but an audit does not by itself establish QFZP eligibility or 0% treatment for all income.

Vendor and report verification

Verify the appointment.
Then verify the report.

Vendor checks can cover commercial suppliers and professional advisers. Audit appointments require particular attention to credentials, independence and authority acceptance.

Before appointing a provider

Confirm the legal entity and professional credentials.
Check relevant authority acceptance for the intended filing.
Review the signatory, experience and office details.
Agree scope, fees, deliverables and responsibilities.
Confirm independence and report-verification procedures.
Verify credentials and authorisation for tax representation.

After report issuance

Use the reference printed on a Brainstorm report to check available details through the verification portal. Contact the firm directly if information differs or the reference cannot be found.

Authenticity checks do not replace reading the audit opinion, scope and limitations.

Verify an audit report

Separately scoped tax support

Connect financial reporting
with your tax records.

The supplied corporate material identifies Corporate Tax, QFZP, VAT and FTA tax-agent support. Confirm current credentials, authorisation and the proposed engagement scope.

Corporate Tax and QFZP

Registration, return preparation and taxable-income calculations.
Tax adjustments, exempt income and non-deductible expenditure.
QFZP conditions and Qualifying Income analysis.
Related parties and transfer pricing.
Financial-statement reconciliation and FTA correspondence.

Explore corporate tax services

VAT for digital commerce

Registration, deregistration and return preparation or review.
UAE and overseas customers, imports and exports.
Marketplaces, services and fulfilment arrangements.
Voluntary disclosures, health checks and VAT reconciliation.
Authorised FTA correspondence where agreed.

Explore VAT services

VAT treatment depends on the facts of each supply. Audit and tax remain separate professional engagements, with appropriate auditor-independence safeguards when related services are coordinated.

Our Dubai CommerCity audit process

From engagement
to final report.

The timetable and information requests are agreed after understanding the business model and condition of the records.

01 / Understand

Initial assessment

Review the CommerCity licence, legal form, activities, period and audit purpose.

02 / Agree

Scope and quotation

Assess business complexity, records, transaction volumes and responsibilities.

03 / Prepare

Information request

Issue a checklist tailored to platforms, balances and reporting needs.

04 / Plan

Audit planning

Identify material risks, sales channels and significant accounting areas.

05 / Test

Audit procedures

Examine selected transactions, balances and supporting evidence.

06 / Resolve

Management queries

Discuss differences, missing records and proposed adjustments.

07 / Review

Financial statements

Review accounting treatments, presentation and relevant disclosures.

08 / Reconcile

Tax consistency

Where separately agreed, compare figures with VAT and Corporate Tax information.

09 / Complete

Final matters

Evaluate outstanding evidence and complete reporting procedures.

10 / Report

Report issuance

Issue the report following completion of the relevant professional requirements.

Documents required

Prepare the evidence.
Reduce avoidable delays.

Transaction-level platform and settlement records can be especially important for digital-commerce businesses. The final request list is tailored to the entity.

Corporate and accounting records

Dubai CommerCity licence and incorporation documents.
Shareholder and ultimate beneficial owner information.
Trial balance, general ledger and draft financial statements.
Bank statements, reconciliations and material contracts.
Sales, purchase and expense documentation.
Previous audit reports where available.

Platforms, schedules and tax records

Payment-gateway and marketplace reports.
Customer and supplier schedules.
Inventory, stock-count and logistics records.
Fixed-asset register and supporting documents.
Related-party and intercompany schedules.
VAT records and relevant Corporate Tax information.

Common audit issues

Resolve the gaps
before they grow.

Year-round bookkeeping and reconciliation help avoid reconstructing high-volume transaction records at audit completion.

Settlement differences

Unreconciled gateways, marketplace deductions, refunds, chargebacks and unrecorded fees can obscure sales and cash balances.

Stock and cut-off issues

Missing quantity evidence, incomplete fulfilment records, goods in transit and sales or purchase cut-off errors require timely attention.

Group and tax inconsistencies

Foreign-exchange differences, incomplete related-party records and unexplained VAT-to-revenue differences need documented reconciliation. Avoid blanket 0% tax assumptions.

Why Brainstorm

Connected knowledge.
Clear responsibilities.

Select the engagement based on verified credentials, relevant experience and a written professional scope.

Audit and IFRS support

The supplied company material identifies UAE audit credentials, external audit and financial-statement reporting among Brainstorm’s services.

Coordinated tax expertise

Access separately scoped Corporate Tax, QFZP and VAT reviews while respecting auditor independence and engagement boundaries.

Verifiable reporting

Use report-reference checks for issued Brainstorm reports and confirm any Dubai CommerCity-specific eligibility before the intended filing.

Common questions

Before your
CommerCity audit begins.

Clear answers about appointment, financial records, authority requirements and tax coordination.

Does a Dubai CommerCity company need audited accounts?

The DIEZ framework contains annual-account, auditor and filing requirements, including for FZCOs. Confirm the requirements and process for the company’s current legal form and circumstances.

Does a QFZP need audited financial statements?

Yes. Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 requires a Qualifying Free Zone Person to prepare and maintain audited financial statements, irrespective of revenue level.

Does free-zone location guarantee 0% Corporate Tax?

No. Relevant QFZP conditions and the treatment of the company’s income must be assessed. Location alone does not determine the outcome.

What does a QFZP assessment examine?

Legal status, actual activities, income, counterparties, substance, transfer pricing, audited accounts and other applicable conditions supporting the intended tax treatment.

Is Brainstorm an FTA Approved Tax Agent?

Brainstorm is an FTA Approved Tax Agent and provides UAE Corporate Tax and VAT assistance within separately defined professional engagements.

What is vendor verification?

Checking a supplier or professional provider’s legal identity, credentials, authority and suitability before appointment. For audit work, include any zone-specific acceptance requirement.

Can a Brainstorm audit report be verified?

Use the report-verification portal with the reference printed on the report. Contact Brainstorm if details differ or a reference is unavailable.

Can audit and Corporate Tax work be coordinated?

Yes, through separately scoped engagements and suitable acceptance procedures, subject to auditor-independence requirements.

Does Brainstorm provide FTA tax-agent support?

The supplied corporate documentation identifies FTA tax-agent services. Confirm current credentials, authorisation and representation scope with the team.

What should we send for a quotation?

Start with the CommerCity licence, legal form, activity, financial year, latest trial balance, approximate revenue, transaction volume and previous audited statements. Agree a secure sharing method first.

How long does a CommerCity audit take?

Timing depends on company size, channels, transaction volume, bookkeeping quality, inventory, supporting evidence and responses to queries. Agree a realistic schedule after the initial review.

Why can audited revenue differ from VAT or tax figures?

Timing, VAT treatment, tax adjustments, refunds, marketplace deductions, foreign exchange and related parties may create differences. Material differences should be explained and reconciled.

Related services

Explore financial reporting, tax, accounting and systems support.

Audit services

Reporting and assurance

Discuss wider external audit, controls and financial reporting requirements.

Explore audit services

Corporate tax services

Tax compliance and QFZP

Registration, calculations, returns and separately scoped free-zone tax analysis.

Explore corporate tax services

VAT services

Transactions and reconciliations

Review registration, returns, refunds, imports, exports and supporting evidence.

Explore VAT services

Bookkeeping services

Reliable underlying records

Maintain ledgers, reconciliations and schedules supporting financial reporting.

Explore bookkeeping services

FTA tax-agent support

Authorised tax assistance

Discuss permitted tax correspondence and representation within an agreed scope.

Explore FTA tax-agent support

ERP solutions

Connected business records

Review finance, inventory, accounting systems and reporting workflows.

Explore ERP solutions