ACBAR

CPA Afghanistan is the national professional accountancy organization (PAO) and the statutory regulator of the accounting and auditing profession in Afghanistan. It serves as the country’s sole authority responsible for developing, regulating, and promoting the accountancy profession in line with international standards and best practices.

The International Senior Audit & Regulatory Consultant will serve as CPA Afghanistan’s principal source of international audit, quality-assurance and regulatory expertise. He/she will bring deep technical knowledge (≥20 years in the audit profession, preferably with experience in a regulator or professional accountancy organization), IFAC-body membership, and hands-on experience implementing international auditing and assurance standards and quality control mechanisms.

Position title: International Senior Audit & Regulatory Consultant (Full-time, International Consultant — staff position)
Duty station: Kabul, Afghanistan (CPA Headquarters — Treasury Building). Remote/hybrid work only by exception with Board approval.
Reports to: Executive Director, CPA Afghanistan (technical adviser to the CPA Board of Directors).
Supervises: N/A (advises and mentors QA/Standards/Membership teams; may supervise short-term specialist consultants when required).
Contract duration: Open-ended/regular staff appointment (subject to 3-month probation); initial fixed/flexible offer possible depending on HR policy.
Start date: As soon as mutually agreed.

CPA Afghanistan’s mandate covers:

• Professional accountancy education and qualification: Designing and implementing competency-based programs that lead to the CPA Afghanistan designation, aligned with the International Education Standards (IES).
• Membership and licensing: Granting membership to qualified professional accountants and issuing practicing licenses to audit firms, training institutions, and other approved entities.
• Standard-setting and adoption: Adopting and facilitating the implementation of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and the IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants within Afghanistan.
• Quality assurance and regulation: Overseeing the professional conduct of members and firms through quality assurance reviews, compliance monitoring, and enforcement of ethical and disciplinary measures.
• Public interest and institutional development: Upholding transparency, accountability, and professional excellence to strengthen public trust in the Afghan financial reporting and assurance ecosystem.

1. Purpose / Overall role

The International Senior Audit & Regulatory Consultant will serve as CPA Afghanistan’s principal source of international audit, quality-assurance and regulatory expertise. He/she will bring deep technical knowledge (≥20 years in the audit profession, preferably with experience in a regulator or professional accountancy organization), IFAC-body membership, and hands-on experience implementing international auditing and assurance standards and quality control mechanisms. The Consultant will:

• Act as the institutional “knowledge reservoir” — advising the Board of Directors and Executive Management on practical impacts of governance and policy decisions;
• Provide day-to-day technical backup to operational teams (Quality Assurance & Control, Professional Standards, Membership & Licensing, etc.);
• Represent CPA Afghanistan in regional/international fora (IFAC/SAFA/CAPA) and coordinate technical relationships with peer PAOs and donors.

2. Key responsibilities (summary)

A. Strategic advisory to Board & Executive Management

• Provide independent, evidence-based advice on proposed policies, licensing decisions, QCR outcomes, rule changes, sanctions and other board decisions — focusing on practical impact, international comparability and legal/regulatory risk.
• Prepare concise advisory memos for Board meetings, highlighting implementation risks, resource needs and international precedents.

B. Technical leadership (standards, QCR, regulation)

• Lead review and enhancement of Quality Control Review (QCR) processes, inspection protocols and follow-up procedures in line with IFAC/IAASB/IAESB guidance and SAFA/CAPA best practice.
• Provide technical oversight and peer review of complex firm inspections, licensing assessments, firm ratings and sanction reports.
• Advise on adoption/interpretation of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), IFRS (where relevant), the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, and IFAC SMOs.

C. Professional Qualifications — design, delivery and pathway to CPA Afghanistan professional examination papers

• Guide the Professional Qualifications Department to design and implement CPA Afghanistan’s credentialing framework aligned with IFAC IES and international best practice.

• Establish Examination governance (Exam Board, item-writing and standard-setting panels);
• develop competency-based curricula and defensible exam blueprints (learning outcomes, weightings, question types, cut-scores);
• create secure item-bank and psychometric processes (pre-testing, standard setting, item analysis);
• select delivery models (CBT default; paper/blended where needed) and exam administration SOPs;
• define transition policies (grandfathering, exemptions, credit transfer);
• build staff capacity through train-the-trainer and marking standardisation;
• embed QA and annual review cycles; and secure external moderation/partnerships to accelerate credibility.

D. Capacity building & knowledge transfer

• Design and deliver a high-level CPD/capacity plan for QA staff, inspectors and committees (train-the-trainer, workshops, mentoring).
• Coach operational teams to strengthen technical report writing, inspection documentation, and communication of findings to regulated firms.

E. Representation & stakeholder engagement

• Represent CPA Afghanistan in IFAC/SAFA/CAPA meetings, bilateral technical dialogues and donor-funded program reviews; prepare briefing notes and follow-up actions.
• Maintain active liaison with international PAOs, standard-setters and regional regulators to bring relevant developments to CPA.

F. Operational support & availability

• Be available (within reason) to operational teams for technical queries, urgent advisory requests and to attend key inspections, hearings or Board sessions.
• Ensure handover documentation and institutional memory (knowledge base of precedents, memos, templates).

3. Deliverables (first 12 months — minimum)

1. 30-day brief: Written diagnostic of CPA’s current Professiona Qualifications and QA/regulatory gap-areas and priority actions for Board/Executive.
2. 90-day roadmap: Detailed 6–12 month action plan to strengthen QCR, licensing, and Board technical support (with resource and training needs).
3. QCR protocol update: Revised inspection protocols and checklists aligned with IFAC SMOs and SAFA benchmarks.
4. Capacity building package: At least 3 training modules and mentoring plan for QA inspectors and technical staff; deliver first workshop within 4 months.
5. Quarterly advisory memos to the Board on operational and international developments (minimum 4 in the year).
6. Representative engagement: Attend at least one international/regional meeting (virtual or in-person) and submit lessons-learned report.

Deliverables will be refined jointly with Executive Management during onboarding.

4. Qualifications & experience (minimum / essential)

• Professional experience: Minimum 20 years of progressive experience in the audit field (external audit and/or audit regulation). At least 5 years in senior regulatory roles (e.g., head of QA, national regulator, senior partner with QCR responsibility).
• Professional membership: Current member in good standing of an IFAC-recognized professional accountancy bodies consisting of:

i. ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales)

ii. CPA USA (Certified Public Accountants United States of America)

iii. CPA Canada (Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada)

iv. CPA Australia (Certified Practising Accountant Australia)

v. CA Bangladesh (Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh)

vi. CA India (Chartered Accountants of India)

vii. CA Pakistan (Chartered Accountants of Pakistan)

viii. CA Sri Lanka (Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka)

• Proof of membership required.
• Regulatory experience: Preferable experience working within or advising a Professional Accountancy Organization (PAO), audit regulator, or equivalent body with responsibilities for firm inspection, licensing and standard-setting.
• Technical knowledge: Deep working knowledge of ISAs, IFAC Code of Ethics, IFAC SMOs, quality control frameworks (e.g., ISQC 1 / ISQM 1/2), and familiarity with QCR methodologies.
• Education: University degree in accounting, finance or related field; postgraduate qualification or relevant executive education desirable.
• Languages: Fluent English (written & oral). Proficiency in Dari and/or Pashto preferred.
• Other: Eligible to travel; ability to obtain necessary clearances and follow CPA Afghanistan security and HR policies.

5. Competencies & skills

• High-level advisory & executive communication (writing succinct board memos).
• Strong stakeholder management — comfortable briefing Ministers, board members and international partners.
• Training & mentoring capability; ability to transfer practical skills to mid-level staff.
• Analytical mindset: can translate policy into operational procedures and measurable KPIs.
• Integrity and conflict-of-interest sensitivity — must be able to separate prior client relationships from regulator duties.

6. Terms & conditions / employment considerations

• Employment status: Full-time staff member of CPA Afghanistan (subject to HR policy). Probationary period: 3 months.
• Remuneration & benefits: Competitive international salary and benefits package (to be negotiated; recommended to align with CPA’s staff grading and donor/HR guidelines) for international work force.
• Remuneration Range: Up to $10,000 USD per month, to be negotiated.
• Security & clearances: Subject to CPA/Ministry-of-Finance security clearance and local employment regulations.
• Conflict of interest: Must declare past and ongoing audit engagements; unacceptable to hold active audit client relationships in Afghanistan that conflict with regulator duties.
• Travel: May require regional travel (IFAC/SAFA/CAPA meetings) and national travel for inspections.
• Intellectual property & knowledge products: All policy documents, templates and training materials developed for CPA remain CPA property.

Qualified interested candidates are requested to only submit their CVs along with a cover letter in a single PDF file mentioning either vacancy number or job title in the subject line of mentioned email address!

ahmadzai.maiwand@mof.gov.af