What changes in governance at listing
A listed company is governed differently, and the change is structural rather than procedural. Board composition must meet independence requirements. Audit, nomination and remuneration committees need charters and members qualified to sit on them. Related party transactions move from a commercial matter to a disclosed one. And internal control over financial reporting becomes something the board reports on.
The ICFR requirement specifically
The Capital Market Authority, which replaced the SCA on 1 January 2026, requires listed entities to assess internal control over financial reporting and obtain an external auditor's opinion, with public disclosure mandatory from 1 January 2027. A company listing into that regime needs a documented and tested control environment at admission, not afterwards. Newly listed companies receive a one year grace period, which is shorter than the work usually takes.
How CLA Emirates prepares you for listing
We work backwards from the requirements that apply at admission and identify which have the longest lead time, which is almost always ICFR and board composition. Committee charters are drafted to the code and then tested against how the board actually intends to operate, because a charter nobody follows is worse than none. Related party frameworks are built before the transaction, when the arrangements can still be changed.
