CLA Emirates provides IFRS advisory in UAE. Companies should settle accounting questions before they become audit issues. We write technical positions, assess new standards, design group accounting policy and support finance teams through adoption and transition.
Understanding IFRS
IFRSs are the International Financial Reporting Standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, setting how transactions are recognised, measured, presented and disclosed in financial statements.
The standards are principles-based, which is precisely why judgement is required. Two companies in the same sector can reach different, equally defensible conclusions on revenue timing or lease classification — and both need a documented rationale their auditor can accept.
IFRS applicability for UAE companies
Yes — IFRS is the required reporting framework for UAE companies under the Commercial Companies Law, and free zone and financial free zone regulators apply it as well.
IFRS compliance UAE authorities expect is also increasingly a tax question. Corporate tax is calculated from accounting profit prepared under IFRS Accounting Standards, so an accounting policy choice now flows directly into the taxable position and into what the Federal Tax Authority sees.
Which IFRS standards apply to UAE companies?
The full suite applies, but the standards that generate most attention in the UAE are IFRS 15 on revenue, IFRS 16 on leases, IFRS 9 on financial instruments, IAS 19 on employee benefits and IFRS 10 on consolidation.
IFRS advisory in practice
We provide IFRS advisory services to businesses across the UAE, helping management address complex accounting issues before transactions are recorded. We prepare robust technical accounting position papers that analyse the applicable IFRS requirements, key judgements, alternative accounting treatments considered, and the basis for the conclusions reached. These papers provide a clear audit trail to support management's accounting decisions and facilitate discussions with auditors, regulators, and other stakeholders.
Where IFRS advisory is usually needed
- Revenue recognition on long-term and multi-element contracts
- Lease classification, modification and sale-and-leaseback
- Expected credit loss models for receivables
- Business combinations, goodwill and purchase price allocation
- Consolidation, control assessment and joint arrangements
- Financial instrument classification and hedge accounting
- Employee benefits, gratuity and share-based payment
