Skip to content

Books ready before the auditor shows up

Audit and compliance support

Short answer

Finbryn reconciles the books, PBC schedules and IFRS statements a SOCPA-licensed auditor and the Ministry of Commerce's Qawaem filing expect, so fieldwork and good-standing renewals move without delay. Our accounting team prepares audit-ready files from your reconciled books. A SOCPA-licensed auditor performs the audit itself and gives the opinion on your accounts.

Auditor request list

Illustrative client · August 2026

SAR

  1. Trial balance and general ledger exportDone
  2. Bank confirmations and statementsDone
  3. Receivables and payables listingsDone
  4. Fixed asset register with additionsIn progress
  5. Accruals and prepayments supportNext

Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.

Why a Saudi audit request lands on more desks than expected

An audit reaches a Saudi company from several directions at once, not only the shareholders' meeting. The Ministry of Commerce asks for audited financial statements filed through Qawaem to keep a company in good standing. A bank or a growth investor increasingly asks for the same file before extending credit. A MISA-licensed foreign-owned company faces both, plus a Commercial Registration renewal that leans on the same numbers. Finbryn prepares the file behind each of these; the audit itself, and the opinion, comes from a SOCPA-licensed auditor you engage separately.

Building on IFRS, tied to one trial balance

SOCPA has endorsed IFRS, with IFRS for SMEs available to smaller entities, replacing the phased-out Saudi GAAP. We reconcile every bank, card and control account to its statement, then build schedules for accruals, prepayments, fixed assets and intercompany balances that tie straight back to the trial balance an auditor, or a Zakat and tax reviewer, opens first.

Keeping the Zakat and CIT split visible in the same file

Most Saudi companies with a mixed ownership structure carry Zakat on the Saudi and GCC share and corporate income tax on the foreign share as two separate computations. We hold that split in the chart of accounts as transactions post, so the same schedules an auditor reviews already show it, rather than a spreadsheet built after the fact.

Qawaem and the Zakat certificate sit next to the audit

A Zakat certificate only issues once ZATCA sees no outstanding balance, and Qawaem asks for the audited statements themselves. We build both into the same readiness folder, so one organised set of records answers a lender, a tender committee and an auditor instead of three separate scrambles at different points in the year.

For MISA-licensed and multi-entity groups

A MISA-licensed foreign-owned company, or a group with entities in Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam alongside a parent elsewhere, faces the same Commercial Registration and Qawaem cycle on top of its own reporting calendar. We keep the Saudi entity's file consistent with what its own auditor and the Ministry of Commerce expect, and flag anything a sister entity needs from a local specialist.

Who you contract with

Northlane Solutions Inc. is the US company you contract with under a written engagement covering how your data is handled.

Getting started

Most companies see the biggest benefit starting two to three months before fieldwork or a Qawaem filing date. See pricing for how an audit-readiness engagement is scoped, or book a call to talk through your timeline.

Questions

Frequently asked questions: Audit and compliance support

Does Finbryn carry out the audit itself?

No. We prepare the books, schedules and PBC responses a Saudi audit relies on. A SOCPA-licensed auditor performs the audit and gives the opinion on your accounts.

Do all Saudi companies need an audit?

The Ministry of Commerce requires audited financial statements through its Qawaem platform as a condition of good standing, and many banks, investors and tenders ask for the same file separately.

How does audit preparation connect to our Zakat certificate?

A Zakat certificate only issues once ZATCA sees no outstanding balance on the account, and the same reconciled trial balance an auditor reviews is what we check that position against ahead of a renewal.

Can you support a MISA-licensed foreign-owned company?

Yes. We keep the entity's audit-readiness file consistent with what its Commercial Registration renewal and Qawaem filing expect, alongside its own auditor's request list.

What falls outside audit and compliance support?

We prepare audit-ready books, PBC lists and working papers. We do not perform the audit, give the opinion, or represent your company on a matter of judgement. That sits with your SOCPA-licensed auditor or a ZATCA-licensed tax agent.

How far ahead of a deadline should we start?

Most clients start two to three months before fieldwork or a Qawaem filing date, which leaves room to close reconciliation gaps before the request list lands.

Next step

Talk to the team that would run your books

A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.