Transformation in UAE’s Audit Future
Almost every auditing company in Dubai and the rest of the UAE agrees that the future of financial audits in the UAE is transforming. One of the leading international advisory and assurance firms, Grant Thornton partnered with ACCA and hosted several key influencers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in an event titled, ‘The Future of Audit’. The event’s mission is in establishing how the audit environment was set to change in meeting the ever-changing needs of the economy in the UAE.
There is a diverse economy in UAE that challenges international markets. One may get curious to know what this means to companies together with their audited financial statements. What are the legislations and regulations taking place locally and across the world which further promote change in the industry? These form some of the questions that were addressed while the insightful discussion took place. The attendants were some of the biggest leading businesses across the UAE.
The meeting found out that the strength and independence of the audit committee are crucial and that the overall business strategy needs to be digested in order to drive further the way forward for the organization’s benefit which will additionally allow the committee to realize any control lapses. Also touched by the audience are the practical challenges of the impending long-form report with regulators anticipating holding sessions in awareness in order to have this concern addressed.
The UAE is rapidly becoming a leader in the economy in recognizing the whole world even as expectations exceed and the future gets innovated. What an audit requires doing is ensuring that the growing needs of a business are accomplished and that the present standard audit approach of delivering financial statements is reformed. According to the audience, the auditing role requires encompassing an approach of a ‘trusted advisor’ where the auditor gets to be a strategic partner for further unlocking their potential for growth and also in solving complex issues that may occur.
Technological use is some of the challenges identified for audit future and questions raised if this is fit for these purposes even in the evolvement of the profession. This includes a move to integrated reporting from historical financial statements. Participants also noted that in present times, the audit is everything to everybody but there is a risk that a certain standard report fails to meet the needs of various stakeholders and that there could be diverse reports for diverse purposes.
