Jurisdiction: UAE

With corporate tax now in force, free zone compliance tightening and regulators expecting IFRS-standard reporting, the margin for error is narrow. Accurate, well-structured records help you handle audits, attract capital and make sound decisions.

We work with finance teams, CFOs and owners across UAE mainland, DIFC, ADGM and the major free zones to strengthen reporting, resolve technical accounting issues and stay compliant: as an extension of your team, not a distant adviser.

Reporting

IFRS Implementation and Technical Advisory
First-time IFRS adoption and well-reasoned guidance on specific issues: revenue recognition, leases, financial instruments, business combinations and impairment: applying the relevant framework to the facts, including transitions from local GAAP or Indian Accounting Standards.

Group Consolidation
Consolidated financial statements for groups with UAE and international subsidiaries, covering intercompany eliminations, currency translation adjustments and the presentation standards expected by European, US and Asian parent entities.

Financial Statement Preparation and Bookkeeping
Annual and interim statements, year-end close support and outsourced cloud bookkeeping with UAE VAT-aligned records compliant with FTA requirements: a practical finance function without a large in-house team.

Advisory

Accounting Opinions
Written opinions that give your board, auditors and regulators clarity on complex treatments across revenue recognition, financial instruments, leases and business combinations: grounded in IFRS and written to be practically useful.

Accounting Policies and Procedures
Documented accounting policies, chart-of-accounts structures and procedures manuals finance teams can actually follow: useful during ERP implementations, post-acquisition integration and first-time IFRS adoption.

Listing Readiness
Support for teams preparing to list on DFM, ADX, Nasdaq Dubai or Indian exchanges, ensuring statements, disclosures and related-party information stand up to regulator and underwriter scrutiny, including the DRHP and RHP workstreams.

Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) Reporting
Scope-driven reviews for specific requirements such as debtors, stock counts, creditors or loan covenant compliance, presenting factual findings without an audit opinion: flexible assurance for regulators, lenders and clients.

How We Work

Engagements are partner-led and staffed by chartered accountants with hands-on IFRS experience across UAE mainland, ADGM, DIFC and the major free zones. We are familiar with the Ministry of Economy reporting framework, FTA requirements under the Corporate Tax Law, and the obligations applicable to free zone persons.

UAE corporate tax now requires records that support the positions taken in the return, free zone entities must track qualifying versus non-qualifying income to keep the 0% rate, and VAT returns must be filed on time. Getting the accounting function right from the start is risk management, not a cost.

We work with businesses at any stage: pre-revenue startups, established SMEs, UAE subsidiaries of foreign groups and free zone entities: on a monthly retainer or project basis.

Bookkeeping and Oversight

Bookkeeping and Periodic Accounting
Day-to-day transaction recording, bank reconciliations, payables and receivables management and month-end close: structured to support VAT filing, corporate tax preparation and group reporting, including backlog accounting and prior-period reconstruction.

Accounting Review and Supervision
A senior review layer for businesses with in-house bookkeepers: periodic oversight, sign-off on reconciliations and coaching, flagging errors before they compound and putting in the procedures that prevent them recurring.

Audit Readiness
Year-end audit readiness including financial statement preparation, supporting schedules and working papers, plus end-to-end coordination with statutory auditors to resolve observations and achieve a clean, timely sign-off.

Tax and Compliance Records

UAE Corporate Tax Record-Keeping
Books maintained to substantiate the positions taken in the corporate tax return, with the 9% rate above AED 375,000, the Qualifying Free Zone Person 0% conditions and related-party transfer pricing documentation kept in mind from the outset.

VAT Accounting
UAE VAT compliance built into the bookkeeping process: correct classification of zero-rated, exempt, standard-rated and out-of-scope supplies from the point of entry, with registration above AED 375,000 (voluntary from AED 187,500) and timely return filing.

Reporting and Operations

Management Reporting
Monthly or quarterly management accounts in IFRS format: profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow and variance analysis: tailored to a board pack, investor update or parent-company consolidation, with budgeting and forecasting support available.

Fixed Assets, Inventory and Costing
Fixed asset register maintenance, inventory reconciliation for trading and manufacturing businesses, and costing review where margin analysis matters: areas frequently undermanaged and among the first flagged in an external audit.

Treasury and Cash Management
Payables and receivables management, cash flow monitoring and basic treasury support, setting up and maintaining the reporting structures that give visibility over the cash position and working capital cycle.

How We Work

We use your existing accounting software or help you set up a UAE-appropriate system from scratch. Reporting is delivered on agreed dates. Engagements are monthly retainer or project-based and scale with your business as it grows.

UAE corporate tax came into effect for financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. Returns are generally due within nine months of year-end, transfer pricing documentation must be in place before filing, and free zone entities can lose their 0% rate if substance and de minimis conditions are not met.

Businesses new to UAE operations need to understand what corporate tax means for their specific structure before they set up. We cover the full lifecycle, from impact assessment through to FTA audit defence.

Assessment and Setup

Corporate Tax Impact Assessment
A structured assessment mapping business structure, entity types, revenue streams and inter-company arrangements against the corporate tax framework: producing a clear picture of the tax position, applicable rate, free zone considerations and required compliance steps.

Corporate Tax Implementation Support
End-to-end implementation for businesses ready to put the infrastructure in place: compliant accounting records, chart of accounts and cost centre structure, and preparation for the first return: a one-time engagement that sets the foundation for ongoing compliance.

Compliance

Corporate Tax Compliance
Annual tax computation, identification of available deductions and reliefs, and return filing with the FTA within the statutory deadline: including group relief elections, tax loss transfers, tax group formation, registration, de-registration and tax period changes.

Free Zone and Qualifying Free Zone Person Analysis
Annual analysis of QFZP status against the substance requirements, qualifying income types and de minimis threshold, documenting the position and advising on the operational or structural changes needed to maintain the 0% rate.

Transfer Pricing
Master file, local file and disclosure form preparation aligned with the OECD BEPS framework for related-party transactions and payments to connected persons above the prescribed thresholds, with benchmarking support consistent with the return.

Advisory and FTA Support

Corporate Tax Advisory Opinions
Formal written opinions on transactions or structures that raise a treatment question, grounded in the Corporate Tax Law, implementing decisions and OECD guidance: used for board decisions and relied upon for regulatory filings.

Private Clarifications
Preparation and filing of private clarification requests where the FTA’s view is needed, particularly for QFZP positions, group restructuring and cross-border arrangements where the DTAA interaction is not straightforward.

FTA Audit and Inquiry Support
Management of FTA notices and reviews: correspondence, factual and technical responses, a formal basis of return filing as a defence record, and voluntary disclosure submissions with timing and disclosure strategy.

Cross-Border Advisory and Structuring
Advice on the interaction between UAE corporate tax and the relevant double taxation agreements, permanent establishment and POEM considerations, and the participation exemption, including the tax consequences of restructuring at entry and exit.

How We Work

Engagements are partner-led and staffed by chartered accountants. We know the Corporate Tax Law, the ministerial and cabinet decisions under it, and how the FTA interprets them in practice, and we apply that directly to your situation rather than working from a standard template.

Equity is supposed to make your people rich when the company does well. In practice most plans quietly fail: founders find they cannot take ESOPs, consultants get options they were never allowed to receive, and employees end up holding shares they cannot sell.

We help you pick the right tool: ESOPs, RSUs, SARs, phantom stock or sweat equity: for what you actually want, write the plan so it works with your shareholder agreement, and handle the parts most people miss: who is allowed to receive equity, the tax at every stage, and how shares finally turn into real money.

Design and Structuring

Capital Structuring for Incentive Plans
Getting the underlying capital structure into shape before any plan is implemented: share class architecture, authorised versus issued capital, pre-plan equity reorganisation and the Articles of Association amendments required under UAE commercial companies law.

Choosing the Right Instrument
Selecting between ESOPs, SARs, phantom plans and RSUs based on ownership profile, listed or private status and acceptable complexity: including founder and promoter realignment as businesses scale ahead of funding rounds, acquisitions or listings.

Tax and Cross-Border

Tax and Corporate Tax Considerations
Share-based compensation costs are deductible for UAE corporate tax, but the timing and quantum depend on how the plan is structured and documented: and for equity from an overseas parent, the parent’s home-jurisdiction obligations still need to be addressed.

Cross-Border Plans
Extending a parent’s equity plan to UAE employees, addressing FEMA compliance and RBI approval for Indian parents, recharge and transfer pricing arrangements between parent and subsidiary, and the treatment of unvested awards on termination or restructuring.

Compliance and Exit

UAE Employment Law and Regulatory Compliance
Plan documentation carries more weight where Labour Law does not comprehensively regulate equity compensation: the treatment of unvested awards on termination, the interaction with end-of-service gratuity, and DIFC, ADGM and SCA requirements all need addressing.

Exit and Liquidity Management
Advance planning for participant exits in private companies: buyback mechanisms, tag-along and drag-along provisions, secondary sale processes, and the treatment of vested and unvested awards in an acquisition, merger or IPO, including lock-ups and vesting acceleration.

How We Work

We work across Indian and UAE regulatory frameworks and coordinate with advisors in other jurisdictions where the plan requires it, structuring promoter exits and stake realignments separately from employee plans but sequenced carefully to avoid dilution conflicts.

For UAE residents, succession is rarely a single-jurisdiction question. Family wealth typically sits across UAE operating businesses, real estate, regulated assets and accounts back home, and family members are often spread across countries.

We build wills, trusts, foundations and governance structures that work under UAE federal law, the DIFC and ADGM regimes, and the home jurisdictions that matter to the family.

Instruments

Wills
Drafting with attention to asset location and the rules that apply on death: registering non-Muslim residents with the DIFC Wills Service Centre or Abu Dhabi Wills Register to opt out of forced heirship, and structuring the disposable estate with lifetime gifts, Hiba and foundation transfers for Muslim clients.

Foundations
Foundation Charters and By-laws across DIFC, ADGM and RAK ICC, sized to probate avoidance, asset consolidation or multi-generational governance, with advice on funding, council and guardian appointments, beneficiary class design and the interaction with UAE Corporate Tax.

Trusts
Trust Deeds under the DIFC and ADGM regimes: revocable, irrevocable, discretionary and purpose trusts: structured for asset protection, incapacity planning and cross-border succession where the family wants separation between legal and beneficial ownership.

Strategy and Governance

Succession Strategies for Diversified Asset Portfolios
A sequenced plan covering each asset class: business interests through shareholders’ agreements and buy-sell provisions, freehold real estate held by non-Muslims, financial assets mapped against each country’s probate rules, and frequently overlooked intellectual property and digital assets.

Family Governance
Family charters, shareholders’ agreements covering voting rights, board succession, ROFR, tag-along, drag-along and exit restrictions, and Deeds of Adherence for the next generation: a rulebook the family will actually use.

Cross-Border Succession and US Estate Tax
Mapping exposure to estate or inheritance tax in the UK, US, India or elsewhere through citizenship, residence or asset location, structuring around it and coordinating with local counsel: including planning around the US estate and gift tax regime for US-connected families.

How We Work

Engagements are partner-led and handled by professionals with hands-on experience across the DIFC and ADGM regimes, UAE federal succession law, the Civil Personal Status framework, and the principal home jurisdictions of UAE families.

We design, test and strengthen the controls that sit underneath your key business processes: internal audit, risk management, internal financial controls and statutory compliance.

The work is sized to UAE businesses of every shape, from owner-managed groups to listed PJSCs and regulated entities.

Governance

Internal Audit
Risk-based audit plans built around your business cycles and delivered using data analytics on full populations rather than samples: aligned with the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards and sized to the business, not a template.

SOPs and Delegation of Authority
Standard operating procedures, manuals and delegation-of-authority matrices, benchmarked to industry best practice.

ERP Support and Implementation
We help automate processes and establish adequate system controls during ERP implementation, ensuring the controls identified at the planning stage are actually built into the system.

SOX 404 Support
For UAE subsidiaries of US-listed parents: design and operating-effectiveness testing, walkthrough documentation and deficiency remediation, run alongside group internal audit and the external auditor.

Internal Audit Effectiveness Review
For in-house functions, we benchmark planning, execution, reporting and remediation tracking against IIA standards and identify where the function can add more value to the Board and Audit Committee.

Risk

Enterprise Risk Management
ERM framework design, risk register development, risk appetite statements and Board reporting protocols: built for how your business actually makes decisions, not what a governance template suggests.

Control Definition
Where specific risks are identified but the controls are not yet defined, we map controls to risks, assess adequacy and propose working models proportionate to the size and nature of the business.

Fraud Investigation
Discreet, evidence-led investigations using forensic data analytics, document review and witness interviews: structured to support disciplinary action, insurance recovery or litigation.

Third-Party Audits
Reviews across the full range of third-party relationships: vendor and supplier reviews, customer and dealer audits, inventory verification, mystery shopping, and contract compliance against agreed terms and SLAs.

How We Work

Engagements are partner-led and staffed by chartered accountants, certified internal auditors (CIA) and IT auditors.

UAE indirect tax compliance has real teeth. The FTA runs active audit programmes, penalties for errors or late filings can be significant, and mandatory e-invoicing is rolling out on a phased timeline that businesses cannot afford to miss.

We cover the full indirect tax lifecycle, from registration and structuring decisions at the start to audit defence and dispute resolution when the FTA comes calling.

VAT Advisory and Compliance

Registration, De-registration and Structuring
Advice on registration timing, mandatory and voluntary thresholds (AED 375,000 and AED 187,500), VAT group structures and the de-registration process: getting the structure right at entry and exit, where the difference between treatments can mean recovering input tax or absorbing a 5% cost.

Return Preparation, Filing and Stagger Changes
Monthly and quarterly VAT returns prepared on your data and reconciled to the ledger, with input tax recovery maximised, partial exemption issues flagged, stagger change applications managed, and excise tax returns handled the same way.

Opinions, Clarifications and Complex Positions
Written technical opinions and FTA clarification requests for complex areas: real estate, financial services, healthcare, education, related-party supplies and cross-border transactions: where the position is not clear from published FTA guidance.

VAT Refund
Preparation and filing of refund applications with supporting documentation, managing FTA follow-up and handling formal correspondence where claims are delayed or disputed: directly affecting working capital for businesses with zero-rated or export sales.

Compliance Health Checks
A structured review of transaction classification, input tax recovery, return accuracy, documentation standards and filing history: producing a clear picture of exposure before an FTA audit makes it a bigger problem.

UAE e-Invoicing

Gap and Impact Assessment
A review of current invoicing processes, ERP configuration and data outputs against FTA technical requirements, producing a prioritised action plan with clear ownership and timelines ahead of the phased Peppol-based mandate.

Integration and Go-Live
Working with you and your accredited service provider to integrate systems with the Peppol network, test data mapping and transmission, support go-live, and update supplier and customer contracts where invoicing terms need to change.

Disputes and Ongoing Support

FTA Audit Support and Dispute Resolution
Managing the full FTA audit process: the initial information response, technical submissions on disputed positions, formal objections and reconsideration requests, and representation before the Tax Disputes Resolution Committee where required.

Systems, Procedures and Training
Reviewing ERP configurations for VAT treatment, tax codes and reporting outputs, designing internal procedures and checklists, and running training for finance and operations teams who need to understand VAT in their day-to-day work.

Retainership and Ongoing Advisory
A standing indirect tax resource covering ongoing advisory, regulatory update briefings, health checks and day-to-day access to our team: well suited to businesses in rapid growth, launching new products or operating across multiple UAE jurisdictions.

How We Work

Partner-led engagements, staffed by qualified tax professionals with direct FTA audit experience and deep knowledge of UAE indirect tax law: the VAT Law, executive regulations and tax procedure laws, along with the public clarifications, guides and cabinet decisions issued by the FTA.

The UAE’s tax landscape has changed materially: a 9% corporate tax, a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax for in-scope MNEs, transfer pricing obligations aligned with the OECD Guidelines, and a treaty network of over 130 jurisdictions now sit on top of what used to be a no-tax baseline.

Cross-border structures that worked five years ago can leak tax, fail substance tests or attract Pillar 2 top-up. We help businesses tighten those structures so they hold up commercially and under scrutiny.

Structuring and Treaty Access

Inbound and Outbound Structuring
Investment structuring for businesses entering the UAE and UAE groups deploying capital abroad: holding company location, free zone versus mainland positioning, QFZP eligibility, repatriation routes and exit planning: that survives substance tests and uses treaty benefits without triggering anti-abuse rules.

Foreign Entity UAE Compliance
Advising non-resident companies and foreign groups on UAE corporate tax and VAT registration, FTA filing obligations and UBO disclosure, even without a permanent establishment, and flagging where activity crosses into taxable presence.

DTAA, TRC and Treaty Access
Securing Tax Residency Certificates from the FTA, building the substance file that supports a treaty claim, and applying the correct treaty to dividends, interest, royalties, capital gains and business profits across the UAE’s 130-plus double taxation agreements.

Permanent Establishment Risk
PE assessments under the Corporate Tax Law and relevant treaties covering fixed place of business, dependent agents and service PE thresholds, evaluating cross-border activities to identify exposure and align operational structures to mitigate unintended risk.

Transfer Pricing and Global Minimum Tax

Transfer Pricing
Policy design and documentation aligned with Article 34 and the OECD Guidelines: Master File, Local File, benchmarking, intercompany agreements and the related party disclosure form: plus support drafting and filing Advance Pricing Agreements with the FTA.

Pillar 2 Global Minimum Tax
Scope assessment, FTA registration support and Effective Tax Rate computation under Cabinet Decision No. 142 of 2024, which applies a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax to MNE groups with consolidated revenue of EUR 750 million or more from financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025.

Cross-Border Flows and Mobility

Withholding Tax
Assessing applicable treaty provisions and domestic laws to determine withholding tax outcomes on cross-border transactions, ensuring arrangements meet treaty eligibility conditions such as beneficial ownership and substance.

Foreign Tax Credits
Evaluating the availability and utilisation of foreign tax credits in cross-border transactions and for cross-border employees, analysing domestic laws, treaties and Multilateral Instrument provisions to support compliant positions.

Founder and Executive Mobility
Pre-immigration planning for founders and HNIs relocating to or from the UAE: residency transitions, origin-country exit tax, asset realignment and ESOP and RSU positioning: plus secondment structuring and cross-border employee mobility for corporate clients.

How We Work

Engagements are partner-led and staffed by chartered accountants and international tax specialists with experience across UAE, Indian, US, UK and European tax regimes. Every engagement is scoped to the transaction, the treaty access position and the reporting timeline.

Strategic Advisory at KCM brings together the disciplines a UAE business needs at its inflection points: growth, profitability, restructuring, capital markets readiness, AI adoption, valuation and wealth.

The work is independent, partner-led and built around your industry and your stage.

Strategy and Growth

Growth, Profit and Market Expansion
Identifying and sizing new revenue avenues across the UAE, the wider GCC and adjacent markets, and designing strategies to convert growth into sustainable profitability through cost, pricing and operating model levers.

Feasibility Studies, Market Entry and Market Analysis
Addressable market sizing, competitive dynamics, regulatory navigation, free zone versus mainland choices and post-tax economics under the Corporate Tax Law, for UAE entrants and UAE-based groups expanding outbound.

Pricing Strategy
Pricing model design balancing market positioning, customer value, competitive response and financial outcome, with peer benchmarking, scenario modelling and the internal approval flows that keep pricing disciplined post-launch.

Restructuring and Transformation

Business Turnaround and Restructuring
Rapid diagnostics, a turnaround plan covering operations, working capital and capital structure, and hands-on support through the first phase of execution for underperforming units, carved-out businesses or stressed assets.

People and Organisational Restructuring
Aligning structure, talent and people practices with strategic priorities: organisational design, decision rights, succession depth: plus HR policy reviews, employee surveys and benchmarking translated into recommendations and SOPs.

Capital Markets and Investment Banking

Listing Readiness and Execution
End-to-end support for a UAE or cross-border listing across DFM, ADX, Nasdaq Dubai, DIFC, ADGM and international exchanges: covering pre-listing preparation, fundraising, intermediary management, documentation, investor relations and post-listing compliance.

Buy-Side Advisory
Helping investors and corporates identify opportunities through market assessments, target screening and strategic fit evaluation, supporting the full acquisition journey from valuation and offer negotiation through diligence to execution.

Sell-Side Advisory
Advising businesses and promoters on fundraising and exit strategies, preparing transaction materials, managing investor outreach, evaluating offers and negotiating terms with comprehensive transaction support through to close.

AI Transformation and Valuation

AI Awareness
Sector-specific workshops that align leadership and functional teams on what AI can and cannot do today, the use cases already mainstream in your industry, and where focused investment will pay back.

AI Transformation and Technology Adoption
Use-case identification and prioritisation, vendor evaluation and cost-benefit analysis, implementation oversight and the change management plan that determines whether the tools are still in use six months after go-live.

AI Process Automation
Process workshops, fit-gap analysis and automation design covering RPA and intelligent document processing for finance and operations processes including record-to-report, AP, AR, expense management and bank reconciliations.

Business Valuation
Independent valuations for transactions, restructuring, dispute resolution, IFRS reporting, ESOP design and family settlement, using DCF, market multiples, transaction comparables and net-asset methods that hold up under scrutiny.

How We Work

Partner-led, with senior advisors who have run businesses, structured deals and managed transformations across the UAE, India and internationally. Diagnosis first, then options, then a phased plan with measurable outcomes.

We structure groups, deals and capital flows so they meet the commercial objective without creating unintended tax, regulatory or reputational exposure.

The work runs across the Corporate Tax Law, VAT Law, free zone qualifying income rules, foreign ownership norms, and the cross-border position under the UAE’s treaty network.

Group Structuring

Tax-Optimised Group Structuring and Restructuring
Internal reorganisations to consolidate operations, separate businesses for sale or align with an incoming investor: sequencing transfers to use reliefs under the Corporate Tax Law, planning around the two-year claw-back, and testing the impact on QFZP status before any step.

Demerger, Slump Sale and Asset Transfer Structuring
Carve-outs, business demergers and going-concern transfers structured for Business Restructuring Relief and out-of-scope VAT treatment, coordinating corporate approvals and, for Indian-linked groups, the slump sale and stamp duty position.

Cross-Border Holding and Repatriation

Cross-Border Holding Structures
Holding structures for intellectual property: trademarks, patents, software, brands and royalty streams: placed in the jurisdiction that fits the underlying activity and tested against the QFZP regime, transfer pricing rules and the participation exemption.

Capital Repatriation Planning
Repatriation of profits, capital and exit proceeds to shareholders in India, the UK, Europe, the US and elsewhere, mapped against the relevant treaty, the participation exemption, source-country withholding and the recipient’s home-country pass-through rules.

Multi-Jurisdictional Holding Structures for Foreign MNCs
Inbound holding structures for foreign MNCs setting up a UAE platform, regional headquarters or treasury hub across mainland, free zone and offshore options, with Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax modelling built into the conversation rather than retrofitted.

Joint Ventures

Joint Ventures and Strategic Partnerships
JV formation and structuring for UAE market entry, including sectors requiring a UAE partner: advising on shareholding, management rights, board composition, profit-sharing, exit clauses and the tax treatment on formation and exit, with home-jurisdiction coordination for cross-border counterparties.

How We Work

Partner-led, with a single recommendation rather than a menu of options. Post-deal compliance, including corporate tax registration, VAT amendments and UBO updates, is handled by the same team.