Establishment accounts
The rules address accounting records, annual accounts, directors’ approval and a signed auditor’s report. Clauses 17(K)–(M) cover delivery and auditor appointment.
Read the FZE rules ↗SAIF Chartered Accountants · Sharjah branch
Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZA) Auditors
Audit, accounting and reporting support for Hamriyah’s industrial, trading and service businesses—with a branch office inside HFZA and a clear plan for your year-end.
Hamriyah audit and accounting services
Local support. A clear view of your numbers.
For a Hamriyah business, year-end may involve far more than closing a sales ledger. Stock can be moving between warehouses, production costs may be incomplete and group balances can remain unreconciled.
SAIF Chartered Accountants helps you plan the reporting work around those realities. Start with the legal entity, accounting period and requirements, then agree the evidence, timetable and responsibilities with the engagement team.
Our Sharjah branch at E2-115F, Hamriyah Free Zone Authority gives your finance team a local point of contact. The engagement can connect annual audit with separately scoped accounting, tax and advisory support, while keeping the auditor’s independence and management’s responsibilities clear.
Whether this is your first audit, a change of auditor or an overdue period, provide the previous reporting position at the outset. Early visibility of record gaps is more useful than a rushed promise of completion.
HFZA audit requirements
Know the rules for your legal entity.
The published FZE and FZC implementing rules remain linked on HFZA’s official forms page. Read them with current authority notices and company-specific instructions.
Company accounts
The corresponding FZC provisions appear in Article 19. Clauses 19(J)–(L) cover delivery, appointment and the auditor’s report.
Read the FZC rules ↗Confirm the signing firm
The published rules refer to auditors approved by HFZA. Confirm current eligibility and the appointment process through the authority or business portal; a publicly searchable list is not the only way an authority can administer this.
Agree the engagement before work begins.Company, branch or group?
Identify the entity on the licence and any parent-company reporting needs. Do not apply an FZE/FZC filing checklist unchanged to a branch or assume group accounts replace every local obligation.
Provide the registration documents and relevant notices.HFZA audit deadline and undertakings
Separate the deadline from a concession.
Authority filing, licence renewal, audit completion and tax reporting are different milestones. Keep written evidence of any arrangement affecting your company.
Three months after year-end
FZE 17(K) and FZC 19(J) specify delivery of annual accounts within three months, or a longer period determined by HFZA.
For a 31 December year-end, plan around 31 March unless the authority confirms otherwise. Build in time for evidence, review and approval.
A commitment to file
The official form records a promised submission date in connection with licence renewal. It warns of penalties and other measures if the commitment is not met.
Confirm acceptance with HFZA and schedule the remaining work against the agreed date.
Official submission undertaking ↗Temporary and conditional
The waiver form concerns submission for specified years and retains a commitment to provide audited statements later. It is not a blanket or permanent exemption.
Confirm the concession and assess tax, lender and group obligations separately.
Official waiver undertaking ↗For current submission instructions and audit-related queries, consult HFZA Finance and Accounts. Do not treat the availability of a downloadable form as approval of an application.
Audit and related support
Choose the scope your business needs.
A clear proposal separates the independent audit from additional accounting, tax or submission work.
Annual financial statement audit
A defined engagement covering your entity, reporting period and applicable financial reporting framework. Discuss significant balances, opening figures and intended report users before fieldwork.
Explore this support →Accounting and audit preparation
Identify incomplete schedules, reconcile the trial balance and organise supporting evidence. Bookkeeping or accounts-preparation assistance is separately scoped and subject to independence considerations.
Explore this support →Inventory and manufacturing evidence
Plan count attendance where needed and examine supporting records for raw materials, work in progress, finished goods and stock held by third parties. A standalone stock assignment needs its own scope.
Explore this support →Reporting and submission support
Agree the final reporting pack, authorised signatory and filing responsibilities. Authority-form assistance and follow-up are included only where specified in the engagement.
Explore this support →Corporate tax coordination
Connect the accounts with separately scoped Corporate tax work, including the assessment of free-zone treatment. Reconcile tax workings and identify the evidence needed for the position taken.
Explore this support →Transfer pricing and group reporting
Address related-party trading, services, funding and group schedules under the appropriate scope. Benchmarking can support a pricing analysis; it does not replace transaction records.
Explore this support →Industry-focused preparation
Follow the transaction beyond the ledger.
The following planning examples help finance teams organise evidence. The audit approach is tailored to the business, risks and materiality.
Manufacturing and processing
Explain the production cycle, bills of materials, cost allocation and treatment of scrap. Reconcile raw materials, work in progress and finished goods to the accounts, with evidence for significant estimates.
Trading and distribution
Connect purchase orders, supplier invoices, shipping terms, goods received and customer deliveries. Investigate goods in transit, returns, credit notes and stock held in external warehouses.
Logistics, maritime and storage
Identify the service period, customer responsibilities, deposits and pass-through charges. Separate the company’s own assets and stock from goods held for customers.
Professional and other services
Support revenue with contracts and evidence of delivery. Reconcile advance billings, accrued income, payroll and subcontractor costs, even where the business carries no physical inventory.
From warehouse records to financial statements
- 01 · Establish the quantityIdentify locations, ownership, count results and movements around year-end.
- 02 · Support the valueDocument cost calculations and assess damaged, obsolete or slow-moving items.
- 03 · Reconcile the resultConnect stock schedules to the ledger and explain adjustments and disclosures.
A preparation illustration—not a substitute for audit procedures or the applicable accounting framework.
HFZA audit document checklist
Prepare one controlled set of records.
This is a practical audit-preparation guide, not a list of documents to upload to HFZA. The engagement team will tailor its requests.
Company and prior-year file
Licence, incorporation documents, ownership information, financial year, previous audited statements and relevant HFZA correspondence. Flag changes in capital, directors or activities.
Ledger and reconciliations
Trial balance, general ledger, bank statements and reconciliations, receivable and payable ageing, accruals, prepayments and a log of post-close adjustments.
Trading and revenue evidence
Material contracts, invoices, credit notes, delivery records and shipping documents. Explain unusual margins, disputed receivables and transactions around year-end.
Inventory and production
Stock listings by location, count instructions and results, third-party stock details, costing schedules, work-in-progress workings and slow-moving or damaged-stock assessments.
Assets, people and funding
Asset registers, additions and disposals, leases, payroll, employee-benefit workings, loan agreements, guarantees, bank facilities and shareholder funding records.
Tax and group transactions
Relevant VAT and Corporate tax workings, related-party agreements and reconciliations, pricing documentation, group reporting instructions and significant subsequent events.
Arrange inventory evidence before the count.
Tell the audit team about all stock locations, external warehouses and planned count dates early. Record access restrictions and agree who will investigate differences. A spreadsheet prepared after year-end may not resolve missing evidence about quantities at the reporting date.
The engagement process
Four stages. Shared visibility.
Management owns the records and financial statements. The independent audit team evaluates evidence and reports its opinion.
- 01
Scope and appointment
Share the licence, reporting period, trial balance and previous report. Confirm engagement eligibility, independence, scope and the reporting calendar.
- 02
Prepare and examine
Assign record owners, coordinate any stock attendance, reconcile schedules and respond to evidence requests. Discuss significant accounting questions early.
- 03
Review and approve
Resolve outstanding matters, review proposed adjustments and complete management’s approvals. The audit opinion depends on the evidence obtained.
- 04
Report and follow up
Receive the agreed reporting pack. Submit through the confirmed route, retain the filing evidence and address any subsequent authority queries.
Reporting and handover
Agree the deliverables before the final week.
The reporting framework determines the statements and disclosures required. Discuss financial position, performance, cash flows, equity movements, notes and comparative information as applicable—not just a trial-balance export.
Management-letter observations, group schedules, authority forms and filing assistance are additional deliverables only where agreed. Identify who signs, who submits and who responds to queries.
Retain the final signed pack and submission evidence. An upload receipt does not necessarily mean all authority queries have been resolved.
HFZA audit fees and timing
A quotation that reflects the real work.
A service business with reconciled records differs from a manufacturer with work in progress, multiple stock locations and complex cost allocations. Transaction volume, accounting systems, record quality and group dealings all affect the engagement.
Send the licence, latest trial balance, previous audit report and a brief description of operations. Highlight outstanding periods, inventory arrangements, financing deadlines and incomplete records. These details support a meaningful quotation rather than a headline price with an uncertain scope.
Ask for separate treatment of audit fees, bookkeeping cleanup, specialist tax work and submission assistance. Agree milestones for evidence readiness, fieldwork, queries, review and approval. Completion depends on sufficient evidence and timely responses, not just the date the engagement letter is signed.
Request a scoped HFZA audit quotation →Connected reporting
Keep audit, tax and pricing aligned.
Free-zone incorporation is not a blanket exemption from UAE Corporate tax. Assess each obligation on its own terms.
Corporate tax and free-zone treatment
Assess the company’s activities, income and applicable conditions separately from the audit. Maintain a clear reconciliation between financial statements and tax workings.
Corporate tax support →Transfer pricing and benchmarking
Related-party purchases, management charges, loans and other group dealings need consistent agreements and financial data. Define any benchmarking or documentation assignment separately.
Transfer pricing services →Benchmarking studies →Operational controls
Recurring stock differences, weak purchasing approvals or delayed reconciliations may justify a focused internal audit. This serves a different purpose from the financial statement opinion.
Internal audit services →Free-zone Corporate tax questions
Qualifying income needs a separate assessment.
The free-zone regime provides a 0% rate for qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, subject to the applicable conditions. A Hamriyah licence alone does not establish that status. Review the activities, income streams, substance and relevant compliance requirements against current guidance.
Qualifying-income rules have been issued: businesses should use the current framework, not older statements suggesting the definition is still awaiting legislation. The FTA’s free-zone guidance explains why the conditions and income categories must be considered together.
Consider registration, returns and supporting records separately from any HFZA submission concession. Coordinate your tax adviser and audit team so that significant positions are supported by consistent financial data.
Our Sharjah branch
A local contact for your HFZA business.
SAIF Chartered Accountants was established in 1994. Our UAE practice brings audit, accounting and tax disciplines together, with a clear request list and direct discussion of significant reporting issues.
Use the first conversation to explain your operations and where preparation is difficult. We can then define the scope, responsibilities and support required rather than applying a generic year-end checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Hamriyah Free Zone audit questions, answered
Practical starting points for owners, finance teams and groups planning an HFZA engagement.
Speak to our team →01Does an HFZA FZE or FZC need an annual audit?+
The published FZE and FZC rules provide for annual accounts and an auditor’s report. Check the legal form, current authority instructions and any entity-specific concession. Branch reporting needs a separate assessment.
02What is the Hamriyah Free Zone audit deadline?+
The published FZE and FZC rules specify delivery of annual accounts within three months after financial year-end, or a longer period determined by HFZA. Confirm any company-specific instructions rather than assuming an extension.
03How do we check an HFZA auditor’s eligibility?+
Confirm the proposed signing firm, UAE audit credentials and current appointment requirements through HFZA’s business portal or the authority. Do not rely solely on a marketing label or an office address.
04Does SAIF Chartered Accountants have an office in HFZA?+
Yes. Our Sharjah branch is at E2-115F, Hamriyah Free Zone Authority, Sharjah, UAE. Email sharjah@saifaudit.com to discuss your entity, financial year and reporting requirements.
05Is an audit waiver a permanent exemption?+
The official Audit Waiver Undertaking describes a temporary, conditional submission waiver for specified years, with a commitment to provide audited statements later if required. Obtain authority confirmation and assess other obligations separately.
06Can a licence be renewed while audited accounts are outstanding?+
HFZA publishes an Audit Submission Undertaking that records a commitment to file by a specified date in connection with renewal. Its availability and acceptance are authority decisions, not an automatic extension.
07What if the company has no sales or has not started trading?+
Inactivity does not mean there are no accounts to prepare. Capital, licence costs, rent, bank charges and shareholder balances may still exist. Confirm the reporting and tax position rather than assuming a turnover-based exemption.
08Is stock-count attendance needed for every company?+
It depends on the business and audit circumstances. Where inventory is material, discuss evidence requirements and count timing before year-end. A company without stock has different risks; there is no benefit in applying the same checklist to every engagement.
09Can stock held at a third-party warehouse be included?+
Identify each location and distinguish ownership from physical custody. Provide warehouse statements, movement records and contracts, and arrange the evidence or access requested by the audit team. The required procedures depend on the circumstances.
10What affects HFZA audit fees?+
The scope depends on transaction volume, stock locations, manufacturing complexity, accounting systems, group dealings and record quality. Share a trial balance and prior report so the proposal can distinguish the audit from cleanup, tax advice and filing assistance.
11How long does an HFZA audit take?+
Timing depends on evidence readiness, confirmations, significant judgements and management responses. Agree milestones after the initial assessment; an urgent deadline cannot remove the need for sufficient audit evidence.
12Does the audit establish eligibility for 0% Corporate tax?+
No. A financial statement audit does not by itself establish Qualifying Free Zone Person status or the tax treatment of each income stream. Those questions require a separate assessment against the applicable conditions.
13Do related-party transactions need separate transfer pricing work?+
Group trading, management charges, loans and other related-party dealings may need pricing analysis and supporting documentation. Reconciled accounts are an important input, but an audit does not replace a transfer pricing study.
14Can we change auditors or clear overdue financial years?+
Share the previous reports, opening balances and authority correspondence. Allow time for professional communication, appointment checks and work on each outstanding period. Confirm the required filing action with HFZA instead of assuming arrears can be combined into one report.
Further reading
Audit, accounting and free-zone insights
Corporate TaxQualifying Free Zone Person Assessment: UAE Corporate tax Guide
Assess QFZP eligibility, qualifying income, excluded activities, de minimis, substance, audit and transfer pricing requirements under UAE Corporate tax.
Read insight ↗
AccountingERPNext in the UAE: A Compliance Guide to VAT, Corporate tax & E-Invoicing (2026)
A practical UAE review of ERPNext configuration for VAT, Corporate tax, audit trails and the phased eInvoicing rollout through accredited service providers.
Read insight ↗
AuditRecommended Auditing Firms UAE 2026: Comparison Guide
Compare established auditing firms in the UAE for 2026 and learn how to assess professional registration, authority approval, industry experience, fees and service quality. This guide also explains why SMEs, mainland businesses and free-zone companies consider Saif Chartered Accountants.
Read insight ↗Official reference points
Check the source, then your company’s instructions.
- HFZA forms and procedures — rules and current form links
- FZE implementing rules — Article 17: accounts
- FZC implementing rules — Article 19: accounts
- Audit Submission Undertaking and Audit Waiver Undertaking
- HFZA department services — Finance and Accounts
Page updated 16 September 2026. General information, not entity-specific advice. Confirm amendments, current authority instructions and any concession before acting.
SAIF Chartered Accountants · HFZA
Plan your next reporting period with confidence.
Share your licence, financial year and accounting position. We will help define the scope, preparation and reporting steps.
Request an HFZA audit proposal →