Budgeting and forecasting
An annual budget built with management, budget-versus-actual reporting through the year, and forecasts and financial models for hiring, pricing, new locations and funding, including the tax that follows.
Advise · Virtual CFO & secondment
Finance leadership and finance capacity, on demand.
Some gaps need a senior finance lead; others need qualified hands inside the team. ebs Chartered Accountants provides both. A virtual CFO owns budgets, forecasts, cash and board reporting on a part-time basis, and a seconded accountant, or a whole team, works inside your business for one to six months through a year end, an audit, a system change or a vacancy.
- CFO fees
- Hourly or retainer
- an hourly rate, or a retainer fixed for a set term
- Secondment length
- 1 to 6 months
- extendable by agreement, or ended early
- Working pattern
- Flexible
- full-time, part-time or job-share
- Where
- All emirates
- on site or remotely, across the UAE
Advise
Who this is for
- The CFO role is vacant, or the finance director is stretched across too many entities.
- The books are kept, but no one turns them into a budget, a rolling forecast or a plan the board signs off.
- You are raising debt or equity and need a financial model and an investor-ready presentation.
- A senior accountant has resigned, and the month-end close cannot wait for the replacement to start.
- The year-end close and the audit fall in the same months, and the team cannot absorb both.
- A system migration or an e-invoicing project needs experienced hands while the day-to-day work continues.
What we do
The work, end to end.
Cash flow and working capital
Cash-flow forecasts, a cash-flow policy and working-capital management across receivables, payables and stock.
Board, lender and investor reporting
KPI dashboards built from the questions management actually asks, board reporting, and investor-ready presentations when you are raising debt or equity.
Controls, contracts and procedures
Contract reviews, internal-control procedures and better accounting procedures, with support and training for your accounting staff.
Accountant secondment
A qualified accountant placed in your team for one to six months, full-time, part-time or job-share, extendable by agreement or ended early with at least one month's notice.
Temporary staff for peaks and cover
One accountant or a full team for year end, audits, large projects, leave and vacancies, covering the ledger, reconciliations, reporting, VAT returns, payroll and audit support.
Inside your processes
Our people know UAE VAT, corporate tax and IFRS, work within your existing processes and systems, and keep your information confidential.
How it works
How the engagement runs.
- 1
To start
No-obligation meeting
A first meeting with our senior team about where the business is and whether you need a finance lead, extra capacity, or both.
- 2
At the start
Scope and fee basis
For CFO support we agree what we own and whether an hourly rate or a fixed retainer fits; for a secondment, the role, skills, working pattern and duration.
- 3
Early on
Diagnostic or matching
We review the numbers, cash, reporting and controls, or propose a qualified accountant, or a team, with the right experience.
- 4
Varies
Work starts
The budget, forecast and dashboard are built from your accounts, or the accountant joins your team and works in your systems.
- 5
Ongoing
Ongoing support
Regular reviews and board reporting, and we stay in touch throughout a placement so any change in the work is picked up early.
What you get
Deliverables
- An annual budget and budget-versus-actual reporting
- Cash-flow forecasts and financial models for your key decisions
- A KPI dashboard, board reporting and investor-ready presentations
- Contract and internal-control reviews
- A qualified accountant, or a team, working inside your business
- Cover for one to six months, full-time, part-time or job-share
- No visa, gratuity, leave or training costs of a direct hire
Know the law
The rules in brief
- 1
Corporate tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% on the excess.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 3; Cabinet Decision No. 116 of 2022
- 2
The corporate tax return must be filed, and the tax paid, within nine months of the end of the tax period. Late payment attracts 14% a year, applied monthly.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Arts. 48 and 53; Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023
- 3
Net interest expense is deductible for corporate tax up to 30% of EBITDA, or up to AED 12 million where that is higher, and disallowed interest can be carried forward for 10 tax periods.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 30; Ministerial Decision No. 126 of 2023
- 4
Payments to owners, directors and their related parties are deductible for corporate tax only at market value.
Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, Art. 36
- 5
A business may have a third party help keep its records, but it remains legally responsible for keeping them and keeping them safe.
FTA Decision No. 4 of 2026, Art. 4
- 6
VAT returns, and any VAT payable, must reach the FTA by the 28th day after the end of each tax period.
Cabinet Decision No. 52 of 2017, Art. 64
A senior finance lead who works with you part-time, remotely or on site, instead of as a full-time employee. You get budgeting, forecasting, cash management and board-level reporting without a permanent CFO appointment, with on-call support for critical transactions as well as routine work.
Either at an hourly rate, or as a retainer fixed for a set term, such as a month. We agree which fits better at the first meeting, and the arrangement can scale up or down as your needs change.
A CFO helps management decide what to do with the numbers; a seconded accountant adds capacity to produce them. If the books are kept but nobody turns them into budgets, forecasts and decisions, start with CFO support. If the work itself has outgrown the team, a secondment fills the gap. Many companies use both at different times.
From one to six months, full-time, part-time or as a job-share. It can be extended by mutual agreement or ended early, with at least one month's notice of any change.
A secondee is an ebs accountant who works in your team for an agreed period, so there is no recruitment process, and you avoid the visa, gratuity, leave and training costs of a direct hire. When the work is done, the placement ends.
Yes. We prepare the financial model, the forecasts and an investor-ready presentation, and support you through discussions with banks and investors, whether you are raising debt or equity.
Yes. Our accountants know UAE VAT, corporate tax and IFRS. ebs is a firm of chartered accountants with Big Four audit-firm experience and more than 50 qualified accountants, and an ACCA Approved Employer.
Yes. We work alongside your in-house team or your current accountant, inside your processes and systems. If you would rather we kept the books too, our fixed monthly packages cover accounting and reporting; see /pricing/.
Often needed together
Talk to us
Bring in a finance lead, or the hands you need
Tell us where the business is, which decisions are coming up, and whether the gap is leadership, capacity or both. We will suggest a scope and a fee basis. The first meeting is free and carries no obligation.
- Zoho Advanced Partner
- FTA Registered Tax Agency, so VAT and corporate tax are filed for you
- Accountants with Big Four audit-firm experience
- Mon to Fri, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (GST)
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