Data protection audits
Our comprehensive audits assess your compliance with GDPR, UAE PDPL, and other data protection regulations. We identify vulnerabilities in your data handling practices and provide actionable recommendations to strengthen your privacy framework.
Key Benefits:
✔ Independent verification of compliance status
✔ Risk assessment for data processing activities
✔ Clear roadmap for regulatory alignment
✔ Evidence for regulator inquiries
Why a data protection audit
A data protection audit tests whether your organisation actually does what its policies say. It checks documents, systems and day-to-day practice against the laws that apply to you, and gives leadership an independent view of where the risks are. Audits are also frequently requested by enterprise customers, investors and regulators, and by anyone running due diligence on your business.
What we audit
- Legal compliance: UAE PDPL, DIFC DPL, ADGM DPR, KSA PDPL and GDPR, as relevant to your operations
- Governance and accountability: roles, DPO arrangements, policies, training and reporting lines
- Records of processing and data mapping: whether your inventory matches reality
- Lawful basis, consent and privacy notices: including website and cookie practices
- Data subject request handling: process, timelines and evidence
- Vendors and processors: contracts, due diligence and onward transfers
- International transfers: mechanisms and supporting assessments
- Security and breach readiness: controls relevant to personal data and your incident response process
- Retention and deletion: whether data is kept only as long as needed
- High-risk processing: including AI, profiling and monitoring, and whether DPIAs exist where needed
How the audit works
- Scoping: we agree which entities, systems, laws and time period are in scope.
- Document review: we review policies, contracts, records and previous assessments.
- Interviews and walkthroughs: we speak to the people who handle data and observe real processes.
- Testing: we sample evidence, for example request logs, vendor files and consent records, to check practice against policy.
- Reporting: a written report with findings rated by risk, evidence and clear recommendations.
- Roadmap and follow-up: a prioritised action plan and, if you wish, support to implement it and re-test.
What you receive
- An executive summary for leadership and the board
- Detailed findings with risk ratings and supporting evidence
- A prioritised remediation roadmap with suggested owners
- A short report suitable for sharing with customers or auditors, where appropriate
Audit or gap analysis: which do you need?
A gap analysis compares your programme with what the law requires and is the usual first step when you are starting out. An audit tests whether the controls you have are working in practice, and is typically done once a programme exists, or periodically to prove it stays effective. Many clients begin with a gap analysis and then audit annually. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
How often should we audit?
Annually is a common cadence, with additional reviews after major changes such as a new system, a merger, a new market or a significant incident.
Do audits require access to our systems?
We usually review documents and observe processes, and request limited, read-only access or screenshots where evidence is needed. We agree access rules and confidentiality terms upfront.
Can you audit our vendors?
Yes. We can review vendor contracts and security and privacy documentation and, where appropriate, run structured assessments of key processors.
Will the audit tell us whether we comply with UAE and Saudi law?
It will assess your practices against the laws you tell us apply, and will highlight areas where the position is unclear. For detail on each regime see our UAE, DIFC, ADGM and KSA compliance service and the DIFC, ADGM and UAE PDPL comparison.
What happens after the audit?
We walk you through the findings and, if you want, help fix them. We can also act as your outsourced DPO to keep the programme on track.