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.
How to Start an Accounting & Bookkeeping Business 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); UAE Government (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.
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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.
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.
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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. Corporate Tax. UAE Government, 2025.
