Strong internal controls protect businesses from fraud, error, and regulatory non-compliance. We assess your existing control environment, identify weaknesses, and help you build a scalable controls framework appropriate to your business size and complexity — using COSO as the underlying methodology.
In brief: Internal controls are what stand between your business and revenue leakage, payment fraud, and compliance penalties. We design and implement COSO-based control frameworks for UAE and GCC businesses: segregation of duties, delegation of authority, financial process controls, and the UAE compliance stack (UBO, ESR, AML, PDPL). Practical, sized for the mid-market, and delivered at a fixed fee.
CFA CharterholderChartered AccountantCOSO FrameworkSOX ComplianceFixed FeeBig 4 Trained
Controls That Protect Without Strangling the Business
Over-controlled businesses create bureaucracy. Under-controlled businesses create exposure. We help you find the right balance — controls that actually reduce risk without unnecessary overhead.
Assessment
Internal Controls Assessment & Gap Analysis
We assess your existing control environment against COSO 2013 criteria — covering the control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring. We identify gaps and prioritise remediation by risk impact.
COSO-aligned controls assessment
Entity-level controls review
Process-level controls walkthroughs
Control gap identification and risk rating
Remediation priority matrix
Design
Controls Framework Design & Implementation
We design scalable controls frameworks for mid-market businesses — practical, documented controls that management can own and operate without depending on external consultants after implementation.
Risk and control matrix (RACM) development
Process documentation and control mapping
Controls design for key financial processes
Policies and procedures documentation
Management testing and self-assessment templates
Segregation of Duties
Segregation of Duties Review
Inadequate segregation of duties is one of the most common control weaknesses in growing businesses — particularly where teams are small and individuals wear multiple hats. We identify SoD conflicts and design compensating controls where full segregation isn't practical.
SoD conflict identification across key processes
Role-based access review (ERP and systems)
Compensating controls design for SoD gaps
Approval authority matrix design
Finance team structure recommendations
Financial Reporting Controls
Financial Reporting Controls & IFRS
Investors, lenders, and acquirers increasingly expect robust financial reporting controls — not just audited accounts. We design month-end close controls, management reporting controls, and IFRS-compliant accounting policies for businesses preparing for investment or acquisition.
What are internal controls and why do UAE businesses need them?+
Internal controls are the policies, approvals, reconciliations, and system restrictions that stop errors and fraud before they hit the financial statements. In UAE mid-market businesses the highest-payoff controls are usually basic: segregation of duties between payments and reconciliation, a delegation of authority matrix, supplier onboarding checks, and monthly close disciplines. Weak controls surface at the worst moments, in due diligence, FTA audits, bank reviews, or after a fraud is discovered.
What compliance obligations apply to UAE companies beyond tax?+
The main obligations are: Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) register filing, Economic Substance Regulations reporting for relevant activities, AML/CFT programmes for designated non-financial businesses and professions (real estate, precious metals, corporate services), data protection under the PDPL, and corporate governance requirements for regulated and listed entities. Each carries penalty regimes, and enforcement activity has increased year on year.
What is a delegation of authority matrix and do we need one?+
A delegation of authority (DoA) matrix defines who can approve what and up to what value: payments, contracts, hiring, pricing, and capital expenditure. Once a business grows past the point where the owner personally approves everything, a DoA is the single most effective control document it can adopt. It is also one of the first documents investors and lenders request in due diligence, because it shows whether governance is real or informal.
How long does a controls implementation take?+
A focused controls diagnostic on core financial processes takes 2 to 3 weeks. Designing and implementing the improvement roadmap typically runs 2 to 4 months depending on process count, system changes, and management bandwidth. We prioritise the controls that reduce the most risk soonest, so protection improves from the first month rather than at the end of a long project.