For employers in Dubai and the UAE

How We Screen Accountants for UAE Employers: What Happens Before You See a Profile

Every candidate is interviewed by our team. Every shortlisted profile is then reviewed by our founder, CA Ketul Patel. You get 3 to 5 profiles within 7 working days of our receiving the service charge.

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Paid service. The employer pays; the candidate pays nothing. See the fees

3 to 5CA-reviewed
profiles

7working days from
the service charge

The CA review

Who reviews the profiles before they reach you?

Our founder, CA Ketul Patel, a Chartered Accountant, checks every shortlisted profile himself before it reaches you.

Ketul started Accounting Baba in 2018. Our team finds and interviews the candidates. Before any profile is sent to you, Ketul reviews it himself. You can also speak to him directly about the role before anything is agreed.

Our Terms of Business set out the same process: candidates are screened through telephonic or online technical and behavioural assessments, and reviewed by our in-house Chartered Accountant and HR team before they are shortlisted. More about Ketul: About Accounting Baba and his LinkedIn profile.

What we check

What do we check before a profile reaches you?

A screening call, an interview by our team, technical and behavioural questions, and a CA review. Before an offer, we can verify education, references and previous pay.

Before the shortlist

A screening call, then an interview by our team.
Technical and behavioural questions, by phone or online.
A check against what you asked for on the first call: the role, the salary budget, the location and the companies to target.
A review of the profile by CA Ketul Patel before it reaches you.

Before the offer

We schedule your interviews with the candidates you pick.
With the candidate's consent, pre-offer verification. It may include education, references, previous pay and a psychometric assessment.
Support in the salary discussion, so your offer lands where it needs to.

What employers usually ask us to screen for. For a VAT accountant: working knowledge of UAE VAT, basic knowledge of UAE corporate tax, Tally, and a monthly cash flow statement prepared without help. For a finance manager: hands-on VAT and corporate tax work, IFRS and audit experience, an ERP, cash flow skills and a CA, ACCA or CPA. If your requirement is different, tell us on the first call and we screen for it. Role guides: VAT accountant, chief accountant, finance manager and financial controller.

Timeline

How long does it take to get a shortlist?

You get 3 to 5 profiles within 7 working days of our receiving the service charge. Interviews, the offer and the notice period follow.

Day 0: a call about the role. We agree the role, the salary range, the location and the companies to target. You pay the service charge of AED 1,000 per opening, which is adjusted against the fee.
Within 7 working days: your shortlist. 3 to 5 profiles, each interviewed by our team and reviewed by CA Ketul Patel.
Your interviews. We schedule them. Please give feedback on profiles and interviews within 5 working days, so the search keeps moving.
Offer and joining. Pre-offer verification with the candidate's consent, support in the salary discussion, then the candidate's notice period. Visa and PRO steps stay with you or your licensed visa partner.
After joining: the 90-day replacement. If the person leaves within 90 days of joining, we recruit one replacement for the same role at no additional fee, subject to conditions.

If no candidate we introduced has accepted your offer within 30 days of our receiving the service charge, we return 50% of it, subject to conditions. The full rules are on the UAE fees page and in the Terms of Business.

Target-Company Search

Where do the candidates come from?

Mostly from the UAE and the Gulf. You name the companies you want people from, including your competitors, and we approach candidates working there.

About 80% of our clients hire people already living in the UAE and the Gulf. We call our method the Target-Company Search: instead of waiting for applicants from a job post, we approach people working at the companies you name. Recruiting from India is the smaller part of our work, used when you ask for it or when the work is basic, such as data entry. For remote roles we have also recruited from the US, the UK, Europe and Asia.

For your interview

What should you ask a VAT or corporate tax candidate?

Ask for real examples: a VAT return taken from invoice to filing, and what corporate tax changed in their records and year-end.

"Take me through a VAT return from invoice to filing." Listen for how they decide standard, zero-rated and exempt supplies, how reverse charge is handled, how input tax is supported by valid tax invoices, and how the return is reconciled to the ledger before it goes to the Federal Tax Authority.
"How has corporate tax changed your records and your year-end?" The regime applies to financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. A strong candidate can describe what they changed in practice, such as tracking non-deductible items, related-party transactions and supporting documents.
"What is different about a free zone company and a mainland company for accounting and tax?" Even a short answer shows whether they have worked in your setup or are guessing.
A short practical exercise. For an accountant, a small batch of invoices to classify for VAT. Keep it short, and do not use live company data.

A warning sign: confident statements about VAT or corporate tax that cannot be tied to a return or filing the candidate actually worked on. More questions, and how to check the answers, are in our guide on how to interview an accountant or finance manager in the UAE.

Next step

What does this cost, and what is not included?

One month's salary of the person you hire, plus applicable taxes. AED 1,000 per opening is paid upfront and adjusted against that fee.

Our role is sourcing, screening and the CA review. Visa sponsorship, offer logistics and the PRO or relocation process stay with you as the hiring employer, or with your licensed visa partner. Worked examples in AED are on the UAE fees page. For how we work across the UAE, see hiring in the UAE. We recruit for employers across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.