# Accounting and Tax-Prep Support for Abu Dhabi Businesses

Canonical: https://finbryn.com/ae/locations/abu-dhabi

Remote service for Abu Dhabi businesses. Finbryn LLC is a Texas limited liability company.

Finbryn provides remote accounting, tax-preparation support and payroll support for businesses in Abu Dhabi, including companies licensed in Abu Dhabi Global Market. The books are built for ADGM's audit rules and the Qualifying Free Zone Person overlay, with corporate tax workpapers and pay-run review alongside. We have no office in Abu Dhabi, and an ADGM-registered auditor audits where an audit applies.

Abu Dhabi has two registries a finance team has to keep apart. The Abu Dhabi Registration Authority licenses onshore businesses, and reported that new economic licences rose 29% in 2025, renewals 20% and active licences 13.5% (Abu Dhabi Media Office, 25 February 2026). Abu Dhabi Global Market licenses companies under its own English common law framework, and reported 12,671 active licences at the end of 2025, up 30% (ADGM release, 31 March 2026). Both sit under the same UAE Corporate Tax Law, but ADGM has its own audit rules.

This page follows the questions an Abu Dhabi finance team actually has to answer: does the company need an audit, does Qualifying Free Zone Person status remove the exemption, which dates fall when, and how payroll is checked before it goes out. Finbryn is a remote service with no office in Abu Dhabi or on ADGM's Al Maryah Island. We keep the books and prepare workpapers; we do not audit, sign or file. Facts last checked on 23 October 2026.

## Onshore licence growth in 2025

The Abu Dhabi Registration Authority's figures for 2025 show new economic licences up 29% on 2024, renewals up 20% and active licences up 13.5%. New licences grew fastest in the occupational category, up 122%, followed by professional and commercial licences at 28% each, industrial licences at 20%, agriculture, fishery and livestock at 12% and tourism at 10%.

The category matters because each one needs different books. An occupational licence holder needs a clean separation of personal and business money and a simple annual record. A commercial licence holder carries stock and supplier credit. An industrial one adds raw materials, work in progress and costing. We set the chart of accounts by licence type at the start, so a first-year company does not outgrow its books in its first year.

## ADGM at the end of 2025

ADGM reported 12,671 active licences at the end of 2025, up 30%, and a workforce of 44,339, up 51% from 29,338 in 2024 (ADGM release, 31 March 2026). It was established under Abu Dhabi Law No. 4 of 2013 with its own civil and commercial laws based on English common law, and its Registration Authority is both the registrar of companies and the commercial and audit regulator (ADGM guidance, August 2025).

That dual role is why ADGM's own guidance, not a general UAE summary, governs an ADGM company's accounts. The guidance also requires every company, dormant ones included, to keep adequate accounting records for at least ten years from the date they are made. We keep the ledger, the supporting documents and the reconciliations in an order that a registrar or auditor can follow years later.

## The ADGM audit default and its three exemptions

ADGM's Registration Authority guidance of August 2025 starts from the position that a company's annual accounts must be audited unless it qualifies for an exemption, and that any audit under the Companies Regulations 2020 must be carried out by an ADGM-registered auditor. The exemptions are for a small company, for a subsidiary of an ADGM company, and for a dormant company.

A small standalone company must have turnover of no more than USD 13.5 million and no more than 35 employees. A small parent company must meet those tests itself, and its group must pass them too, with group turnover of no more than USD 13.5 million net or USD 16.2 million gross. The subsidiary route under section 452 requires, among other conditions, a commitment from the ADGM parent for that financial year and inclusion in the parent's consolidated accounts. The dormancy route under section 455 requires no significant accounting transactions in the period. We record turnover, headcount and group structure through the year so the test can be run from the books and not reconstructed.

## Qualifying Free Zone Persons: the exemption does not help

ADGM's guidance is explicit that a company wanting the 0% corporate tax rate on Qualifying Income as a Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare and maintain audited financial statements regardless of its size, whether it is a subsidiary or whether it is dormant. The requirement comes from the Corporate Tax Law read with Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 for financial years starting on or after 1 January 2025. Where an audit is carried out, an ADGM-registered auditor must do it.

So a small ADGM company that is comfortable with the small-company exemption can lose it by choosing Qualifying Free Zone Person status. The choice is yours and your tax agent's. We show what the audited pack would need from the books, so the extra work is visible before the decision is made.

## Where the emirate's growth is coming from

The Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi reported on 2 October 2025 that real GDP reached AED 306.3 billion in the second quarter of 2025, up 3.8%, with the non-oil economy up 6.6% to AED 174.1 billion. Finance and insurance rose 10.3% to a record AED 21.8 billion, and construction rose 9.7% to AED 30 billion.

Those two sectors need different ledgers. A finance or fund-related start-up in ADGM needs a monthly close, reconciled bank accounts, a dated record of share issues and a clear line between fee income and investment income, because investors and counterparties ask for the accounts early. A contractor needs cost and billing tracked per project, with retention held in its own accounts. We build the first for the start-up and the second for the contractor, and we do not describe any regulatory licensing.

## Dates and timing to calendar

Corporate tax: the return is filed electronically, and tax paid, within nine months of the end of the tax period (Worldwide Tax Summaries, 9 September 2026), which means 30 September 2027 for a year ending 31 December 2026. Audit: where an audit applies, the ADGM-registered auditor needs the full close, so the books should be final well before that date. Wages: Ministerial Resolution No. 340 of 2026, in force since 1 June 2026, makes wages due by the first day of each month, sets the compliance threshold at 85% and lets MOHRE suspend new work permits from the fifth day (tax alert, 26 May 2026).

Payroll support here means checking the draft pay run against contracts and approved allowances before your bank submits it, posting the journals and carrying gratuity and leave accruals. The submission itself is made through your bank.

## What we do for Abu Dhabi companies, and what we do not

The service is remote. We have no office, desk or address in Abu Dhabi or at ADGM, and nothing here suggests one. A named contact keeps your books, runs the monthly close and prepares the corporate tax workpapers, in the accounting software you already use.

We do not audit, sign or file, and we are not an ADGM-registered auditor. A tax agent registered with the Federal Tax Authority files and represents where required. Pricing sits on the rates page, with scope and terms agreed in an engagement letter.

## By the numbers

| Figure | What it means | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 29% | Rise in new economic licences issued by the Abu Dhabi Registration Authority in 2025 | [mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/economy/abu-dhabi-registration-authority-adra-records-29-percent-increase-in-new-economic-licences-in-2025](https://www.mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/economy/abu-dhabi-registration-authority-adra-records-29-percent-increase-in-new-economic-licences-in-2025/) (2026-02-25) |
| 12,671 | Active ADGM licences at the end of 2025, up 30% | [tools.prnewswire.com/en-us/live/20823/release/20260331EN23433](https://tools.prnewswire.com/en-us/live/20823/release/20260331EN23433) (2026-03-31) |
| USD 13.5 million | Turnover ceiling, with no more than 35 employees, for the ADGM small standalone company audit exemption | [assets.adgm.com/download/assets/Guidance+on+accounts+and+audit+for+ADGM+QFZPs+20250825.pdf/79e4975c7cd011f0aee49a1bb17f55cc](https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/Guidance+on+accounts+and+audit+for+ADGM+QFZPs+20250825.pdf/79e4975c7cd011f0aee49a1bb17f55cc) (2025-08-25) |
| 10.3% | Growth of Abu Dhabi finance and insurance output in the second quarter of 2025, to a record AED 21.8 billion | [scad.gov.ae/web/guest/w/abu-dhabi-gdp-rises-3-8-in-q2-2025-driven-by-6-6-growth-of-non-oil-sectors](https://www.scad.gov.ae/web/guest/w/abu-dhabi-gdp-rises-3-8-in-q2-2025-driven-by-6-6-growth-of-non-oil-sectors) (2025-10-02) |

## Services for Abu Dhabi businesses

- [Bookkeeping](https://finbryn.com/ae/services/bookkeeping)

- [Month-end close and reporting](https://finbryn.com/ae/services/month-end-close-reporting)

- [Tax preparation support](https://finbryn.com/ae/services/tax-preparation-support)

- [Payroll support](https://finbryn.com/ae/services/payroll-support)

- [Audit and compliance support](https://finbryn.com/ae/services/audit-compliance-support)

- [Virtual CFO and advisory](https://finbryn.com/ae/services/virtual-cfo-advisory)

## Industries we work with in Abu Dhabi

- [Startups and VC-backed companies](https://finbryn.com/ae/industries/startups-vc-backed)

- [Construction and job costing](https://finbryn.com/ae/industries/construction-job-costing)

- [Real estate and property management](https://finbryn.com/ae/industries/real-estate-property-management)

- [Medical and dental practices](https://finbryn.com/ae/industries/medical-dental)

- [Agencies and consultancies](https://finbryn.com/ae/industries/agencies-consultancies)

## Frequently asked questions: Abu Dhabi

**Q: Does my ADGM company need an audit?**

A: By default yes, by an ADGM-registered auditor, unless it qualifies as a small company, a subsidiary of an ADGM company or a dormant company, according to ADGM's guidance of August 2025. A company that wants Qualifying Free Zone Person status must keep audited accounts whatever its size.

**Q: What are the ADGM small-company thresholds?**

A: For a standalone company, turnover of no more than USD 13.5 million and no more than 35 employees, per the Registration Authority guidance of August 2025. A parent company must also pass a group test. Check the current Registration Authority text before relying on any threshold.

**Q: Can you act as our ADGM-registered auditor?**

A: No. We do not audit and we are not registered as an auditor in ADGM or anywhere else. We prepare audit-ready books and the support schedules your auditor asks for.

**Q: When is the corporate tax return due for an Abu Dhabi company?**

A: Within nine months of the end of the tax period, which is 30 September 2027 for a year ending 31 December 2026. A tax agent registered with the Federal Tax Authority files where representation is required.

**Q: Do you have an office in Abu Dhabi or at ADGM?**

A: No. The service is remote, with no local office, desk or address on Al Maryah Island or anywhere else in Abu Dhabi, and it is contracted through Finbryn LLC.

## Other cities we serve

- [Doha](https://finbryn.com/ae/locations/doha)
- [Dubai](https://finbryn.com/ae/locations/dubai)
- [Kuwait City](https://finbryn.com/ae/locations/kuwait-city)

## Sources

1. [ADGM Registration Authority: financial statements for ADGM qualifying free zone persons (guidance)](https://assets.adgm.com/download/assets/Guidance+on+accounts+and+audit+for+ADGM+QFZPs+20250825.pdf/79e4975c7cd011f0aee49a1bb17f55cc) (2025-08-25)
2. [ADGM release: ADGM registers 12,671 active licences at the end of 2025](https://tools.prnewswire.com/en-us/live/20823/release/20260331EN23433) (2026-03-31)
3. [Abu Dhabi Media Office: ADRA records 29 percent increase in new economic licences in 2025](https://www.mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/economy/abu-dhabi-registration-authority-adra-records-29-percent-increase-in-new-economic-licences-in-2025/) (2026-02-25)
4. [Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi GDP rises 3.8% in the second quarter of 2025](https://www.scad.gov.ae/web/guest/w/abu-dhabi-gdp-rises-3-8-in-q2-2025-driven-by-6-6-growth-of-non-oil-sectors) (2025-10-02)
5. [Worldwide Tax Summaries: United Arab Emirates, tax administration](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/united-arab-emirates/corporate/tax-administration) (2026-09-09)
6. [Tax alert: UAE introduces enhanced wage protection system effective 1 June 2026](https://www.ey.com/en_gl/technical/tax-alerts/uae-introduces-enhanced-wage-protection-system-effective-1-june-2026) (2026-05-26)
7. [UAE Ministry of Finance: Corporate Tax and Qualifying Free Zone Persons](https://mof.gov.ae/corporate-tax/) (2026-09-29)

Reviewed October 2026

## Contact
- Phone: +966 54 478 2054
- Email: hello@finbryn.com
- Booking page: https://finbryn.com/ae/book