Asset managers, hedge funds, prop trading firms and alternative-investment vehicles operating from DIFC, ADGM and the wider GCC live and die by one number: Net Asset Value. Yet the NAV process is where most accounting failures sit.
Fund accounting in DIFC and ADGM operates at the intersection of IFRS standards, DFSA/FSRA regulation and investor expectations. The margin for error is effectively zero.
The fund manager's shadow books rarely match the administrator's books to the cent on day one. Breaks come from missed trades, mispriced positions, timing differences, corporate-action capture and cash sweeps. Small breaks compound into investor-statement errors, restated NAVs and very awkward conversations with LPs.
Valuation of illiquid and Level 3 assets — private credit, real-asset stakes, SPVs, structured notes — is judgement-heavy. IFRS 13 fair-value hierarchy disclosures, the valuation policy, the independence of the valuation committee and use of third-party pricing services are areas where DFSA and FSRA push hard.
Management-fee and performance-fee mechanics — high-water marks, hurdle rates, equalisation, crystallisation events, founder-class economics — are mis-computed more often than the industry admits, particularly when funds change administrators or amend their PPMs.
ESR for fund-management activities, CT treatment of carried interest and management-company income, the Qualifying Investment Fund exemption, FATCA/CRS reporting, and AML/CFT obligations on subscribers all converge on the finance team simultaneously.
When investors ask the hard questions — what is my NAV, what are my fees, what are my fund's expenses — the manager must have the answer in one click. Map My Books acts as the internal accounting layer that makes that possible.
Five accounting bottlenecks that consistently expose fund managers to regulatory risk and LP dissatisfaction.
The fund manager's shadow books rarely match the administrator's books to the cent on day one. Breaks come from missed trades, mispriced positions, timing differences between trade-date and settlement-date accounting, corporate-action capture and cash sweeps. Small breaks compound into investor-statement errors, restated NAVs and very awkward conversations with LPs.
Valuation of illiquid and Level 3 assets — private credit, real-asset stakes, SPVs, structured notes, late-stage venture positions — is judgement-heavy. IFRS 13 fair-value hierarchy disclosures, the valuation policy, independence of the valuation committee and use of third-party pricing services are all areas where regulators and auditors push hard.
High-water marks, hurdle rates, equalisation, crystallisation events and founder-class economics are mis-computed more often than the industry admits, particularly when funds change administrators or amend their PPMs. The financial and reputational cost of a fee error discovered by LPs is severe.
Travel, research, technology, regulatory-capital costs and director fees need a defensible allocation key across funds, share classes and the management company. Most managers do not have a documented policy, creating audit risk and potential regulatory scrutiny.
ESR for fund-management activities, CT treatment of carried interest and management-company income, the Qualifying Investment Fund exemption, FATCA/CRS reporting, and AML/CFT obligations on subscribers all converge on the finance team, often without the internal expertise to navigate them correctly.
A complete accounting, tax and advisory function built around the way financial industry businesses actually work.
We act as the manager's internal accounting layer: daily trade capture, position reconciliation against prime brokers and custodians, T+1 P&L attribution, and a documented monthly NAV sign-off process with the administrator. Shadow books are real shadow books, not after-the-fact replicas.
We structure and document the entity for CT, ESR and the Qualifying Investment Fund regime, manage VAT on management and advisory fees, and ensure FATCA/CRS, UBO and goAML filings are submitted on time. Performance-fee calculations are independently re-performed and signed off.
We prepare IFRS-compliant fund financials, fair-value disclosures with Level 1/2/3 hierarchy, related-party notes for the management company, and SPV-by-SPV audit packs. ADGM and DIFC-licensed funds get audit-readiness work that matches FSRA/DFSA expectations.
We give the GP a real CFO function — LP reporting templates, capital-call and distribution waterfalls, expense-allocation policies, treasury and FX management, and ODD preparation for institutional LP onboarding. For new launches, we design the fund's operating and accounting model before it goes live.
Tell us about your business — the size of your contract book, your current challenges, what keeps the finance team up at night — and we'll come back to you within one working day.
Our financial industry accounting specialists are ready to review your situation and show you exactly where your books can be improved.
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