The number of licensed accountants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has surpassed 1,100, with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism targeting 1,500 individual practitioners over the next five years, Gulf Today reported.
The UAE’s Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, announced the figures during the Chief Audit Executives (CAE) Conference 2026 at Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island.
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He stated: “The number of licensed accountants in the UAE has surpassed 1,100, and the ministry aims to increase the number of individual practitioners to 1,500 over the next five years, alongside the development of a regulatory framework that leverages artificial intelligence to enhance the efficiency of oversight and inspection.
“The ministry’s vision is centred on advancing the quality of professional practices, encouraging innovation, and strengthening oversight and governance across economic establishments of all types.”
Bin Touq said the legislative and regulatory framework governing the profession has advanced through the Accounting and Auditing Profession Law, which has reinforced oversight and governance.
He added that the legislation has improved business transparency and operational efficiency in line with international best practices, noting the role of the UAE Internal Auditors Association (UAE IAA) in setting standards.
The three-day conference was held under Bin Touq’s patronage and organised by the UAE IAA, bringing together 820 chief audit executives and internal audit leaders from 25 countries.
Held under the theme ‘Connect. Innovate. Transform.’, the programme focused on internal audit, corporate governance, enterprise compliance and internal controls.
The summit took place as the UAE implements a national framework to transition half of all government sectors and services to agentic AI within two years, according to Gulf Today.
With intelligent systems taking over decisions previously handled by people, demand is growing for independent assurance that automated actions remain controlled, accountable and sound.
Addressing this shift, UAE IAA chairman of the board Ali Bin Mohammed AlMuwaijei said: “When a machine makes the decision, someone must still tell the board it was the right one. That is the role of our profession.
“Trust attracts capital, and strong governance earns that trust. This association will work with regulators, capital markets, listed companies and boards to make governance and assurance in the UAE a benchmark for the world.”
The programme opened with an AI Masterclass, followed by a two-day conference featuring more than 40 speakers and offering over 23 Continuing Professional Education credits.
Sessions examined AI-enabled assurance, AI governance, enterprise resilience, fraud investigation, integrated assurance and transformation risk.
The UAE IAA also published a report on the state of the country’s internal audit profession and introduced its Certified Executive Leadership programme to prepare practitioners for board-level roles.
During the proceedings, the association honoured 14 entities that achieved general conformance in their external quality assessments.
