Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this activity cover?
It covers accounting and bookkeeping, including recording transactions, maintaining the books, preparing financial and management accounts, reconciliations, and period-end closing.
Who are the typical clients?
Small businesses without a finance team, companies needing monthly management accounts, and firms preparing for tax filing, across the UAE.
Does this include preparing financial statements?
Yes. Preparing financial accounts and management accounts, along with reconciliations and period-end closing, falls within the scope of this activity.
Does this include auditing the accounts?
No. Auditing and certifying accounts falls under the fuller accounting activity. This activity covers keeping the books and preparing the accounts.
Does this help with corporate tax filing?
It prepares the books and statements a business needs for its corporate tax return. Tax representation before the authority falls under the fuller accounting activity.
Topic Summary
UAE Corporate Tax Creates Built-In Client Demand
Since June 2023, the UAE applies a 9% corporate tax on profits above AED 375,000, making proper bookkeeping a legal requirement for every taxable business. This gives accounting firms a steady, recurring client base that grows alongside the broader UAE economy.
Global Market Worth Nearly USD 1 Trillion by 2032
The global accounting services market was valued at USD 682.69 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 986.50 billion by 2032. Entering the profession now means positioning inside one of the world's fastest-growing professional-services sectors.
Meydan Free Zone Offers 100% Foreign Ownership
Entrepreneurs setting up through Meydan Free Zone retain full ownership of their business with no local sponsor required. The zone also offers zero corporate tax on qualifying income and full profit repatriation, keeping more revenue in the business.
One License Covers Core Accounting Activities
Activity code 6920.96 licenses a firm to record transactions, maintain books, and prepare financial accounts for clients. This single activity covers the full scope of day-to-day bookkeeping and period-end reporting work most SME clients need.
Recurring Monthly Fees Make Revenue Predictable
Accounting and bookkeeping firms typically charge clients a fixed monthly retainer to keep records current and accounts ready. This subscription-style model produces stable, foreseeable cash flow compared with project-based professional services.
Fully Digital Licensing Process Speeds Up Setup
Meydan Free Zone operates a fully digital licensing process, meaning founders can complete registration without lengthy in-person visits. A faster setup translates directly into an earlier start date and quicker time to first client revenue.
Serve a Wide Range of SME Client Types
Target clients range from small businesses with no internal finance team to trading companies needing monthly management accounts and firms preparing annual corporate tax returns. This diversity of client types reduces dependence on any single industry or sector.
How to Start an Accounting & Bookkeeping Business in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
Most UAE companies do not want to think about their books until something forces them to: a tax deadline, a bank loan, an investor asking for numbers. An accounting and bookkeeping firm makes sure that moment is never a panic. It keeps the records current and the accounts ready, so the business always knows where it stands.
Accounting and bookkeeping are the bedrock every business stands on. The global accounting services market was worth USD 682.69 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 986.50 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights1.
In the UAE, demand has a built-in tailwind: since financial years starting in June 2023, the country applies a 9 percent corporate tax on profits above AED 375,000, and every taxable business must keep proper books and file a return, according to the UAE Government2.
For an accounting and bookkeeping firm, that means steady work: every company now needs clean, compliant numbers all year round.
Accounting and bookkeeping form one of the world's largest professional-services markets, and in the UAE the corporate tax regime has made proper books a legal requirement for every business. The headline number is the size of the global accounting services market.
Sources: Fortune Business Insights (2025); Federal Tax Authority, Corporate Tax (2025).
Picture a small accounting practice managing a roster of clients. One bookkeeper records a salon's daily takings and supplier payments. An accountant prepares a trading company's monthly management accounts and reconciles its balances.
As the financial year closes, the team pulls together the statements a client needs for its corporate tax return. Each client pays a monthly fee for the practice to keep its books and accounts in order. In a market where every company must now keep proper records, the practices that win are the ones whose accounts are accurate and always ready on time.
Whether it is a month of bookkeeping, a set of management accounts, or year-end statements, an accounting and bookkeeping firm keeps a business ready to report at any moment.
Who is this for?
- Accounting and bookkeeping firms: Businesses keeping books and preparing accounts for UAE companies.
- Outsourced finance providers: Operators delivering monthly bookkeeping and management accounts on contract.
- SME accounting practices: Firms keeping small businesses compliant and report-ready.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate an accounting and bookkeeping business in a market where the corporate tax regime has made proper records a requirement for every company.
6920.96 - Accounting & Bookkeeping
Under this activity, your business is licensed to provide accounting and bookkeeping services, including recording transactions, maintaining the books, and preparing financial accounts.
Business Activities List
Explore Over 2,500+An accounting and bookkeeping firm keeps the financial records and prepares the accounts for its clients. The work spans recording transactions and maintaining the books, preparing financial statements and management accounts, reconciliations, and period-end closing.
The clients are mixed: small businesses without a finance team, companies needing monthly management accounts, and firms preparing for tax filing. It is a steady-relationship business: the firm is paid month after month to keep the numbers current, accurate, and ready whenever the client or the authorities ask.
| Bookkeeping | Accounting | Reporting | Period-End |
|---|---|---|---|
| Posting transactions as they happen, with source documents filed and tagged for traceability. | Drawing the books into management accounts that show the client where the business actually stands month to month. | Reconciling bank, supplier, and customer balances, with variances investigated before they reach the client's desk. | Closing the period, preparing statements, and handing the file over ready for tax filing or external review. |
| ACCOUNTING MARKET | MARKET FORECAST | MARKET GROWTH | UAE TAX |
| Global accounting services market was USD 682.69 billion in 20251. | Global accounting services forecast to reach USD 986.50 billion by 20321. | Global accounting services growing at 5.4 percent a year to 20321. | UAE applies a 9 percent corporate tax on profits above AED 375,0002. |
The activity is specifically for accounting and bookkeeping: keeping the books and preparing the accounts. Auditing and certifying accounts, and tax representation, fall under the fuller accounting activity, while data-processing (6311), management consultancy (7020), and bill collection (8291) are separate.
The line is precise. If your business keeps the books and prepares the financial accounts for clients, you are in. If you audit and certify accounts, represent clients on tax, process data, or collect bills, a different activity applies.
Third-Party Approval: No third-party approval is required for this business activity.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
Citations
1 Fortune Business Insights. Accounting Services Market Report. Fortune Business Insights, 2025.
2 UAE Government. Federal Tax Authority, Corporate Tax. UAE Government, 2025.
