IndexInsights

September 8, 2026

Free zone audits: start in January, not in March

Hannah Okoye

Hannah Okoye

Audit Partner

Audit

5 min

Free zone audits: start in January, not in March

Most free zone licences need audited accounts to renew. Most audit stress comes from starting after year end. Both are fixable in January.

Agree the list early

We send the full request list in the first month of your year. If an item will be hard to produce, we find out in January, not in March.

Test during the year

Controls and early testing happen in an interim visit. Fieldwork after year end then takes two to three weeks, not two months.

General information as at October 2026. Not advice for your company: speak to us, or to your own adviser, before you act on it.