Smoother Year-End Close: Practical Valuation Insights for Finance Teams

As the year winds down, finance teams across the UAE are gearing up for audits and year-end reporting. While most organisations know that valuations are a mandatory part of this process, the smoothness and efficiency of year-end close often hinge on factors that aren’t immediately obvious. Understanding these can save time, reduce auditor queries, and help ensure a seamless process.

1. Data Quality Directly Impacts Audit-Ready Valuations

Accurate valuations start with accurate information. Key inputs often overlooked include:

• Lease documentation: Ensure all tenancy agreements, renewal options, and rent review schedules are up to date.
• Rent rolls and service charges: Outdated or incomplete data can lead to unnecessary adjustments.
• Operating expenses and capex: Provide verified, current figures to avoid repeated clarifications.

Proactively verifying these details before submitting them to your valuer significantly reduces audit follow-up and helps avoid last-minute surprises. This level of preparation also supports smoother corporate tax property valuation in Dubai & Abu Dhabi processes where accuracy is essential.

2. Year-End Market Evidence Matters

Valuations are most robust when they reflect the most recent market conditions:

• Review Q4 leasing activity and transaction evidence.
• Consider market rent trends and comparable property performance.
• Ensure that assumptions reflect current market realities rather than mid-year data.

Finance teams can help by providing context around recent transactions, lease changes, and market updates. This ensures valuations are accurate and audit-ready.

3. Corporate Tax and Real Estate Valuations

With the introduction of UAE Corporate Tax, valuations are no longer just for audit compliance - they are now part of the broader tax strategy. Real estate assets, especially investment properties, need to be correctly valued for balance sheets, related-party disclosures, or calculating fair market value in alignment with tax requirements.

Valuations for corporate tax purposes require consistency with financial reporting, but also specific documentation to support transfer pricing or depreciation bases under the tax regime. Finance teams should ensure the valuer they engage is not only RICS-compliant, but also understands the intersection of accounting and tax treatment. This is particularly important for corporate tax real estate valuation in Dubai & Abu Dhabi, where tax alignment and reporting accuracy go hand in hand.

4. Common Assumptions Auditors Scrutinise

Auditors focus on several valuation assumptions that often require support:

• Market rent levels and the evidence behind them
• Yield and discount rate selections
• Void periods and tenant incentives
• Lifecycle and capex allowances

Providing clear, documented inputs on these assumptions helps auditors sign off faster and minimizes questions.

5. Practical Steps to Streamline Year-End Valuations

Finance teams can take proactive steps to make the process smoother:

• Early coordination: Share updated leasing and financial data ahead of Q4 deadlines.
• Prepare key documents: Tenancy schedules, service charge statements, and any internal assumptions.
• Verify internal records: Ensure all property-related information is complete and accurate.
• Set realistic timelines with valuers: Align expectations for draft reviews and final sign-off.

Even small improvements in preparation can significantly accelerate the year-end close process. Engaging experienced real estate valuation services in Dubai & Abu Dhabi providers ensures that data, assumptions, and reports meet both audit and tax expectations.

6. Bringing It Together

Year-end valuations are more than just a compliance requirement for audit and corporate tax. They are an opportunity to ensure your financial statements are accurate, defensible, and audit-ready. By focusing on data quality, timely market evidence, and clear documentation of assumptions, finance teams can reduce audit queries, streamline the closing process, and help the organisation enter the new year with confidence.

Partnering with an experienced valuation firm ensures these best practices are applied efficiently, giving you confidence in your year-end close and helping your organisation enter the new year with predictable, reliable results. With the increasing importance of real estate valuation services in Dubai & Abu Dhabi, organisations can ensure their year-end submissions meet the highest standards for both audit and tax compliance. Contact us to ensure your year-end valuations are accurate, audit-ready, and seamless.

“Smooth year-end valuations start with the right preparation. Learn the key steps finance teams in the UAE can take to make audits faster and easier.

Contact Archers at:

📞 +971 58 557 8987
📧 info@archersmena.com
🌐 www.archersmena.com/en

FAQs

Which financial statements and documents are required for a year-end audit?

Finance teams look for detailed checklists of the documents auditors will request. This typically includes the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, bank reconciliations, and the fixed asset register.

How does the new UAE Corporate Tax impact year-end asset valuations?

The 9% UAE Corporate Tax requires finance teams to align asset valuations with both accounting standards and tax rules. Accurate valuations affect taxable profits, depreciation bases, transfer pricing, and related-party transactions.

What common valuation assumptions do auditors review during year-end close?

Auditors scrutinise market rent evidence, vacancy assumptions, discount rates, yields, incentives, and lifecycle or capex estimates. They also assess the accuracy of cash flows used in discounted valuation models.

What data do valuers need to complete an accurate year-end real estate valuation?

Valuers require updated lease agreements, rent rolls, service charges, operating expenses, capex details, and accurate property records to ensure precise, audit-ready year-end real estate valuations.

Why is updated market evidence important for year-end property valuations?

Updated market evidence, recent leases, transactions, and rental trends ensure valuations reflect real conditions, strengthening audit credibility and improving accuracy.