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Audit & Assurance · UAE

Due Diligence Services in the UAE

Buying a business, taking on a partner or investing in a UAE company is a decision made on information, and the seller controls the information. Due diligence is the independent investigation that closes that gap: Cressford Chartered Accountants examines the target's financial records, tax position, contracts and operations before the deal is signed, and reports what the numbers actually say, the risks they hide, and what both mean for the price. Deals rarely fail because of what was known; they fail because of what was not checked.

✓ Buy-side and sell-side
✓ Senior-led, confidential
✓ Fixed fee, agreed in advance
Prefer to speak with us? Call +971 54 389 0111
Chartered Accountants · Dubai · UAE

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When it is needed

When due diligence earns its fee

Due diligence is a reasonable investigation conducted before committing to a transaction: confirming that the business is what it appears to be, that the numbers presented are the numbers that exist, and that the risks are priced rather than discovered later. In the UAE market it is most commonly commissioned at these moments:

✓

Acquiring a business or its assets

The buyer verifies revenue quality, liabilities, working capital and the assumptions behind the asking price before signing, the classic buy-side engagement.

✓

Investing or taking a stake

Investors and lenders confirm the target's financial position and earning capability before capital moves, and increasingly require an independent report as a condition of funding.

✓

Joint ventures and new partners

Both sides verify what the other brings: assets, obligations, litigation exposure and the contracts underneath the relationship.

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Preparing to sell

Sell-side due diligence finds the problems before the buyer's advisers do, protecting the valuation and keeping the negotiation on the seller's terms.

The disciplines

The main types of due diligence

A due diligence engagement is scoped to the transaction; these are the disciplines it draws on, alone or in combination:

Financial
Financial due diligence
The core of most engagements: historical results, revenue quality, cash flow, balance sheet substance, debt and debt-like items, working capital and the credibility of forecasts.
Tax
Tax due diligence
Corporate tax and VAT compliance history, filing positions, exposures and penalties that would transfer with the company, increasingly decisive in the UAE's post-2023 tax environment.
Commercial
Commercial due diligence
The market behind the numbers: customer concentration, contract terms, competitive position and whether the revenue the buyer is paying for will still exist after completion.
Operational
Operational due diligence
Systems, processes, key staff, insurance and the management team, the non-financial machinery that determines whether performance survives the change of ownership.
Legal
Legal and regulatory review
Licences, ownership of assets, employment obligations, disputes and regulatory standing, coordinated with legal counsel where formal legal opinion is required.
People
People due diligence
Employment contracts, end-of-service liabilities, key-person dependency and the cost of the organisational structure the deal assumes.
The process

How the engagement runs

1
Scope and confidentiality
The transaction, the questions that matter and the timetable are agreed, with engagement terms and confidentiality signed before any information moves.
2
Information gathering
A structured request list goes to the target; financial statements, tax filings, contracts and operational data are collected and organised.
3
Examination
The records are tested with an auditor's discipline: figures reconciled, positions verified, management interviewed, gaps pursued rather than noted.
4
Findings and report
A written due diligence report sets out the findings, quantified risks, deal-breakers if any, and their implications for price and contract terms.
5
Decision support
The findings are walked through with the client and, where useful, the deal team, so the report changes the negotiation, not just the file.
Most engagements conclude within two to six weeks depending on the size of the target and how quickly information is produced; the timetable is fixed at scoping and urgent transactions are accommodated.
Why Cressford Chartered Accountants

Why deal-makers appoint Cressford Chartered Accountants

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Auditors by profession

Due diligence is investigation of financial records, the discipline registered auditors practise daily. The same scepticism that signs audit opinions examines the target's numbers.

✓

Tax exposure covered properly

As a firm handling corporate tax and VAT across the UAE, tax due diligence is done in-house, where generalist reviewers routinely miss transferable exposures.

✓

Findings that move the deal

The report quantifies what each finding means for price, warranties and conditions, written for the negotiation table, not the archive.

✓

Fixed fee, senior-led, confidential

A fixed fee agreed at scoping, senior professionals throughout, and strict confidentiality on both sides of the transaction. Office 2514, DAMAC Smart Heights, Barsha Heights (Tecom), Dubai.

External Audit →Forensic Audit →CFO Advisory →
FAQ

Due diligence questions, answered

What is due diligence?

A structured, independent investigation of a business before a transaction, verifying its financial position, obligations and risks so the decision to proceed, renegotiate or walk away is made on confirmed facts rather than the seller's presentation.

How long does due diligence take in the UAE?

Typically two to six weeks depending on the target's size and how promptly information is produced. The timetable is agreed at scoping, and urgent deal timelines can be accommodated.

What does a due diligence report contain?

The verified financial position, quality of earnings, debt and debt-like items, tax exposures, key contract and operational findings, quantified risks, and their implications for price and contract terms, with any deal-breakers flagged plainly.

Is due diligence only for buyers?

No. Sellers commission sell-side due diligence to surface issues before the buyer's advisers find them, and investors, lenders and incoming partners use the same discipline before committing.

How is due diligence different from an audit?

An audit expresses an opinion on financial statements against a reporting framework for a past period. Due diligence is forward-looking and transaction-specific: it asks whether this deal, at this price, on these terms, is what it appears to be.

Is the engagement confidential?

Strictly. Confidentiality terms are signed before any information is exchanged, and many engagements run without the wider market, or the target's staff, being aware a transaction is contemplated.

Know what you are buying

Independent due diligence by registered auditors, scoped to your transaction at a fixed fee.

Request my proposalor call +971 54 389 0111