Account Reconciliation

Reconciliation ensures the figures you reported to the FTA match your actual books and e-invoice data, catching missing or duplicate invoices, wrong VAT rates, and over- or under-claimed VAT before filing. VAT and Corporate Tax reconciliation gaps are a major FTA audit trigger, so reconciled accounts significantly reduce penalty and assessment risk.

VAT records must be kept for at least 5 years and Corporate Tax records for at least 7 years after the end of the relevant period, with longer periods for certain assets (capital asset records 10 years, real estate records 15 years). Digital records are accepted but must be secure and retrievable in readable format, typically within 48 hours of an FTA request.

Failing to keep the required records carries an FTA penalty of AED 10,000 for a first instance and AED 20,000 for a repeat violation. Separately, if reconciliation gaps lead to under-reported tax, the FTA can adjust your position and apply tax-based penalties, so accurate reconciliation directly protects you during an audit.

Typically you provide bank statements, your general ledger or accounting software access, sales and purchase invoices, supplier and customer statements, and your filed VAT returns for the period being reconciled. Having complete source documents lets us trace every figure and close any gaps before they become an audit issue.