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Compliance & Certification

UAE & GCC Regulatory Compliance

CBUAE, SAMA, ADHICS, NESA, NCA-ECC and SCA programmes.

UAE & GCC Regulatory Compliance — ISO certification stamp on an audit document, MAST Consulting Group

Overview

Local-language, local-context support for the full GCC regulatory stack: CBUAE Information Security Standards, SAMA Cyber Security Framework, ADHICS V2, NESA / SIA, NCA ECC, SCA and DFSA.

In depth

A four-layer view of this service.

Context, scope, delivery and impact — written for buyers, boards, auditors and search engines alike.

Layer 01 — Context

Context & Why It Matters

01

The UAE and wider GCC operate one of the densest regulatory landscapes in the world for cybersecurity, IT risk, business continuity and data protection.

  • Financial services answer to CBUAE, SAMA, SCA, DFSA, ADGM FSRA and CMA; healthcare to ADHICS V2 and DHA; government and critical sectors to NESA/SIA, NCA ECC/CCC/OTCC and DESC; and every entity to UAE PDPL or KSA PDPL.
  • Cross-jurisdictional groups face overlapping, sometimes conflicting, obligations.
Layer 02 — Scope

Scope & What It Covers

02

Full coverage of CBUAE Information Security Regulation, IT Risk and Outsourcing Regulations, CBUAE Business Continuity Standards, CBUAE AI/ML Guidance; SAMA Cyber Security, Business Continuity and Technology Risk Frameworks; NCA ECC-1, CCC-1, OTCC-1; SIA/NESA UAE Information Assurance Standards; ADHICS V2; DESC ISR and Cloud Security Standard; UAE IAF; DIFC DPL and ADGM DPR; UAE and KSA PDPLs; CST Cloud Computing Regulatory Framework; SCA, DFSA and ADGM cyber and operational resilience requirements.

Layer 03 — Approach

Our Approach & Delivery

03

Locally-based, locally-cleared consultants — Emirati, Saudi and Indian nationals fluent in Arabic and English — lead delivery.

  • We confirm applicability (entity type, licence class, customer base), perform a control-by-control gap assessment per regulation, prioritise remediation against regulator deadlines, and prepare submission-ready evidence packs in the format each regulator expects.
  • We sit in regulator meetings, respond to RFIs, and manage the post-submission remediation cycle.
Layer 04 — Impact

Business Impact & Outcomes

04

Reduced regulatory finding rates, on-time submissions across multi-regulator portfolios, and a single integrated control framework that satisfies overlapping CBUAE/SAMA/NCA/ADHICS obligations with one evidence set.

  • Boards gain visibility into regulatory posture per entity, per regulator, per control — replacing reactive scrambling around inspection dates with a continuous compliance operating model.
At a glance

Process flow, compliance checklist and benefits.

A visual breakdown of how the engagement runs, what evidence we leave behind, and the business outcomes you can defend at the board.

Process flow

How we deliver UAE & GCC Regulatory Compliance.

  1. 01
    Applicability

    Confirm which regulators apply to your entity.

  2. 02
    Gap Assessment

    Detailed gap analysis per applicable framework.

  3. 03
    Remediation

    Prioritised plan with internal and outsourced delivery.

  4. 04
    Submission

    Compliance reports filed with the regulator.

Compliance checklist

What auditors and regulators expect to see.

Every item below is part of an audit-ready UAE & GCC Regulatory Compliance programme — what regulators, certification bodies and enterprise buyers expect to see.

  • Scope and applicability statement

    Confirmed boundaries for UAE & GCC Regulatory Compliance across entities, locations and systems.

  • Gap assessment report

    Current-state diagnostic with prioritised, owner-tagged findings.

  • Policy and procedure suite

    Approved by top management, version-controlled and communicated to staff.

  • Risk register and treatment plan

    Threats, controls, residual risk and accepted exceptions documented.

  • Awareness and role-based training

    Attendance, content and assessment evidence retained.

  • Evidence repository

    Central, auditor-accessible, timestamped artefacts per control.

  • Internal audit and management review

    Independent assurance run before any external assessment.

  • Continuous improvement log

    Findings, corrective actions and re-test evidence tracked to closure.

Benefits

What you walk away with.

Mapped control set per regulator
Local data residency and reporting requirements addressed
Submission-ready evidence packs
Regulator liaison and response
FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Do you cover ADHICS V2?+

Yes. We have delivered ADHICS V2 programmes for hospitals, clinics and Department of Health partners in Abu Dhabi.

Get started

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