Naeem Hasanyar, CPA, ACCA

President & CEO

Naeem Hasanyar, CPA, ACCA

President & CEO

Mr. Hasanyar is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Virginia, United States. He has over 15 years of experience in accounting, government audits, financial management, U.S. Government grants & contracts compliance review, organizational capacity and risk assessment, USAID pre-award, and post-award assessments.

• Hasanyar is the President and CEO of Emerging Consulting Group, where he advises and assists clients with Afghanistan tax compliance, conducts financial audits, establishes financial management systems, develops policies and procedures manuals, assists with USAID financial management, USAID grants, and contracts financial compliance.
• Hasanyar’s prior work experiences include Director of Finance at the American University of Afghanistan, a Financial Analyst at USAID/Afghanistan, and a Government Auditor with Davis and Associates CPA, where he conducted numerous audits for SIGAR and USAID’s Office of Inspector General (OIG).
• Hasanyar is well familiar with U.S. Government regulations such as 2 CFR 200, FAR, OMB Circulars, and USAID’s ADS Series applicable to USG recipients and contractors in non-profits, commercial organizations, local and foreign entities.
• Hasanyar is a member of the Virginia Society of CPAs as well as a member of the U.K.-based internationally recognized accounting body, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and is a member of Intuit QuickBooks certified ProAdvisor.

Maria Assunta F. Francisco, CPA, MBA

Financial Management Advisor

Maria Assunta F. Francisco, CPA, MBA

Compliance Consultant

Ms. Francisco is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the Philippines and a development professional with over 36 years of experience in USAID financial management covering financial analysis, budgeting and accounting, grants and contracts financial and compliance monitoring, and audit management and resolution.  She is especially knowledgeable in federal and USAID rules & regulations.

Ms. Francisco’s work experience includes several key positions with USAID Missions in several key developing markets, including the Philippines, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Haiti.  From 1982 to 1996, she worked at USAID/Philippines as Computer Systems Analyst/Programmer, Financial Analyst (FA), and Supervisory FA.  During her assignment from 1996 to 2006 at USAID/Cambodia, she worked as Chief Accountant, Supervisory FA, and Deputy Controller.  From 2006 to 2013 when she was posted at USAID/Afghanistan where she worked as Supervisory FA and Financial Management Trainer.  In 2016, she worked with USAID/Haiti for six months as Financial Management Specialist/Trainer.

As a USAID Financial Analyst/Supervisory FA/Financial Management Trainer, she provided financial management advice and support to USAID technical teams in the development and implementation of projects/programs, conducted financial reviews and risk assessments (pre-award surveys) of USAID recipients, managed financial audits of USAID grantees/contractors, coordinated with cognizant federal audit agencies (such as OIG, SIGAR and GAO) as well as non-federal auditors on program/performance audits and financial audits.  She coordinated with Mission staff on the implementation of recommendations resulting from audits/reviews.

Prior to joining USAID, she worked for 6 years with an audit/management consulting firm as a technical staffer performing feasibility studies, conducting systems analysis and design, and developing computer systems including USAID/Philippines’ financial management and accounting system.

In 2014 and 2017, she worked as an independent consultant on a short-term basis. She provided financial management services to clients, assisting them in preparing project proposals and in developing or strengthening written financial management policies and procedures.

Abubakar Bello, CPA

Financial Management Consultant

Abubakar Bello, CPA

Abubakar is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Virginia. He joined Emerging Consulting Group (ECG) in July 2017 to support clients with proposal budget development, preparation of financial statements, bookkeeping, and providing accounting support.

From Jan 2016 – April 2016 and Jan 2017 – April 2017, Abubakar served as a Tax Return Preparer for Metro Computax Services Inc. where he prepared federal and state income tax returns for individuals and small business owners. He assisted clients with IRS correspondence audits and minimizing tax liabilities. Abubakar received awards for exceptional customer service and accurate tax returns during both employment periods.

From Jan 2011 – May 2014, he worked as an Independent Consultant for Aid Scope Consulting. During his tenure, he trained six non-profit organizations to improve their organizational structures, financial management, and reporting and assisted in meeting donor funding and lending requirements. He also provided advice and facilitated documentation for three participants of a credit guarantee program resulting in the approval and disbursement of credit facilities.

As an Investment Manager at Asset and Resource Management (ARM) Company from September 2008 to Aug 2010, Abubakar provided superior quality investment service and managed client portfolios in line with investment plans and economic conditions. He also prepared financial year budgets and forecasts and designed strategies to achieve the budgets.

From 2000 to August 2008, Abubakar worked as a credit analyst and relationship manager for United Bank for Africa and Access Bank where he analyzed financial statements of small and medium-sized firms for credit facilities appraisals, provided cash management solutions to customers for collections, payments and elimination of idle cash. He mentored and trained seven credit officers in bank processes, credit appraisal and relationship management.

He also holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Jos, Nigeria and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.

Yalda Natiq

Senior Manager – Legal and Government Relations

Senior Manager – Legal and Government Relations

Ms. Natiq is a passionate legal professional who works strategically to manage complex

situations, mediate conflict and cultivate innovative solutions. Proven ability to collaborate with international organizations to create policies and implement programmes that encourage social justice and development in vulnerable communities worldwide.

Her strong desire in advocating human rights, as a young lawyer she started her job as a human rights activist with Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), focusing on transitional justice, women’s rights and disputes and differences originating from family violence, between 2004-2006. Meanwhile, she participated actively in social and cultural initiatives in the country and outside.

She, among many Afghan women participated in Afghan Constitution Jirga, where new

Afghan Constitution was endorsed by hundreds of Afghans from different parts of Afghanistan, representing their local communities. Additionally, as a part of the civil society network, she continued to take part in efforts aiming at boosting democracy. She was involved as a member of the organizing team of Peace Consultative Jirga in 2010 and then Consultative Jirga on Afghan-American Strategic Partnership in 2011.

She began to work as Director of Legal and International Relations at the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation of Afghanistan from 2007-2013. She was responsible for Afghanistan’s international air transport policy and regulations, building and maintaining bilateral and multilateral relations with international and regional organizations, including International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the European Union, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Also, she has had the privilege as the first woman to represent (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada between 2013-2017.

After graduation from the faculty of law, she continued her engagement with higher education and enrolled in International Development and Law Organization (IDLO), where she completed her diploma in Rome Italy in International Defense Law. Her academic knowledge and years of experience with national and international organizations persuaded her to have a Master’s degree in international law and aviation studies from the McGill University of Canada in 2017.

Since, March 2020 she works as a senior manager – legal and government relations with the Emerging Consulting Group (ECG) where she provides general legal advice, support and assistance including legal opinions and legal research on various legal issues on contract, association, governance, risk management and contentious matters related to the day-to-day business of the Company.

Mohammad Tahir Tahiri

Senior Litigator

Mohammad Tahir Tahiri

Mohammad Tahir Tahiri is a licensed attorney in Afghanistan and holds a master’s degree in civil law. Mr. Tahiri was a part-time lecturer at Kateb University in Kabul and taught academic and vocational subjects to undergraduate students. He served as a legal advisor to both the Afghan Minister and the Ministry of Justice. That experience provided him with substantial knowledge about the legal field and fully exposed him to the judicial system of Afghanistan. He has also published several research papers on various subjects of commercial law. Mr. Tahiri Joined ECG as a Senior Litigator in March 2020, where he represented clients at all stages before the Afghan courts in numerous complex and high-value cases. Prior to joining ECG, Mr. Tahiri was a senior attorney at Kakar Advocates.

Mohammad Nasim

Senior Finance and Tax Manager

Mohammad Nasim

Mr. Nasim is an experienced Finance Manager with comprehensive knowledge of accounting and Afghanistan taxes. He joined ECG in 2016 as Accounting Specialist and was then promoted to Senior Financial and Tax Manager. In this role, he supported ECG’s clients with accounting system review, QuickBooks setup, monthly bookkeeping and guidance on tax compliance, including preparation and filing of tax returns. From 2007 to 2014, he worked in the role of Admin and Finance Manager with several non-governmental organizations such as Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Netzone Limited, and NOVIN SIMIA. In this capacity, he managed financial operations, including daily accounting and tax compliance. Since 2015, he has been working as Finance and Tax Manager at Emerging Consulting Group in Afghanistan.

Sultan Alizada

Accounting & Tax Consultant

Sultan Alizada

Mr. Alizada has started his professional career at the Ministry of Finance in the Afghanistan Revenue Department (ARD). From 2005 to 2014, he worked as a Tax Officer and Audit Manager and General Compliance Manager at the Medium Taxpayers’ Office (MTO) which is part of ARD. In these roles, he developed tax procedures and guidelines, conducted over 100 seminars to improve tax laws awareness, administered tax audits, provided advice to tax auditors, and assessed tax liabilities of medium-sized taxpayers. From 2012 to 2014, he also worked as Vice President of a local tax consultancy firm in Afghanistan where he helped various international and local organizations with advising and preparing tax returns. Since 2015, he has been working as Tax Consultant with Emerging Consulting Group, where he advises and assists clients in Afghanistan with tax compliance. Mr. Alizada holds an MBA from Bakhter University and a BA in Economics from Kabul University

Sulaiman Amini, ACCA

Audit Manager

Sulaiman Amini, ACCA

Audit Manager

Mr. Sulaiman Amini is an ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountant) member, a UK based accountancy body, with an overall 7 years of experience in Finance & Accounting, Private and Government sectors’ Audits, USAID financial and compliance audits. Besides his practical work experience, he has three years of experience as a Lecturer of Finance, Management, and Accounting at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), the most reputable University in Afghanistan.

He joined Emerging Consulting Group (ECG) in October 2019 as Audit Manager. His main tasks at ECG are related to the Financial and compliance audits of USAID Grants. He has also worked in the risk assessment and internal control assignments of SIGAR. Prior to joining ECG, he started his audit and advisory career at Crowe Horwath Afghanistan in 2014. He also worked as Senior Finance Officer in the French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC) one of the Agha Khan Development Network’s agencies. Afterward, in 2019 he joined the Supreme Audit Office of Afghanistan as Senior Audit Expert of the Central Budgetary Department, where he provided professional services to the governmental organizations; he formulated and designed government-wide audit policies and tools to ensure effective and efficient audits are carried out, he initiated the financial audits in the government sector and carried several financial audits of the state-owned enterprises.

Nooruddin Oraal

Senior Auditor

Nooruddin Oraal

Mr. Oraal holds a bachelor’s degree in Management and Business Administration from Kabul University, Afghanistan. He is a Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) affiliated with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), United Kingdom. With over 15 years of experience, he has excelled in his skills in financial management, accounting, auditing, government audits, USAID grants compliance and brings an in-depth knowledge of federal and USAID rules & regulations.

Since 2020, he is working with ECG as a senior auditor in the United States, conducting audits for USAID and other federal agencies in the U.S. and Afghanistan. He is involved in providing consultancy services to clients in Afghanistan taxation compliance, establishing accounting & bookkeeping systems, developing policies and procedure manuals, USAID financial management and reporting, USAID grants and contracts financial compliance, and developing project budgets for USAID funds. Mr. Oraal’s prior work experience with international organizations in Afghanistan includes positions in audit and finance & accounting from 2005 to 2019. He started as an audit trainee at KPMG Afghanistan, a member firm of KPMG International and moved to PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Afghanistan, a member firm of PwC network as assurance supervisor auditing private sectors and NGOs. He worked as a regional finance officer at Aga Khan Foundation, Afghanistan, an international NGO on the projects funded by USAID, World Bank, DEFID etc. From 2010 to 2012, he worked as accounts manager and was promoted to assistant financial controller at (Roshan) Telecom Development Company, Afghanistan (TDCA) and managed the accounting department of the company with a $400 million balance sheet. From 2013 to 2014, he joined the Afghanistan Financial Services (AFS) as a financial advisor & senior audit manager, providing consultancy and training services in accounting and QuickBooks software and auditing U.S. government-funded projects. From 2015 to the end of 2019 he worked for the embassy of the United States as an auditor for its INL bureau and audited its GPI and GLE projects.

Karrar Ali, ACCA

Senior Auditor

Karrar Ali, ACCA

Mr. Karrar Ali is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA), and has done masters degree in professional accountancy from the University of London. Mr. Karrar has over 10 years of successful experience in rendering audit, financial services to leading international organizations, public and private sector.

Mr. Karrar is currently working as a part-time consultant with ECG, where he has overseen audits for various USAID projects. Mr. Karrar has diversified experience of conducting audits of the organizations from various sectors, including the development sector (USAID Projects, World bank funded Projects, UNDP Projects, etc.) Telecom, Microfinance, Aviation, Hospitality, etc. His experience in audit & assurance and financial advisory services has enabled him to develop a comprehensive understanding of the competitive and regulatory environments of different businesses and the accounting and internal control systems implemented at various organizations in Afghanistan. Furthermore, he has a thorough understanding of the UN framework and USAID financial regulatory framework.

Mr. Karrar’s experience is wide-ranging from reporting and providing advice on risk management, analyzing internal control, and assurance systems, establishing effective mitigating controls and process documentation, to leading incident investigations.

Laiq Zar Shinwari, ACCA

Senior Auditor

Laiq Zar Shinwari, ACCA

Mr. Laiq Zar Shinwari is a member of the United Kingdom-based internationally recognized accounting body, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). He has over 5 years of experience in external audits, compliance reviews, and tax audits.

He joined ECG in 2019 as a Senior Auditor, where he was involved in the external audits, risk assessments, and internal control reviews of different clients.

Before joining ECG, he started his professional career in 2015 with KPMG where he was involved as a team member of different national and international organizations external audits. In 2016 when KPMG closed down its operations in Afghanistan, he joined E&Y advisory department as a junior consultant and worked on Pre-donation internal control assessment and compliance reviews of NGOs.

In 2017 he joined the Afghanistan Revenue Department as Manager of Tax Audit, later promoted to General Manager of Tax audit in 2018. While working with ARD, he conducts the tax audits of several national and international entities including Banks, Telecom Companies, Security Companies, and Trading Companies.

Farman Kharooti

Senior Auditor

Farman Kharooti

Najma Hussain

Auditor

Najma Hussain

Ms. Najma Hussain works as an Auditor at Emerging Consulting Group (ECG) since 2019 and performs her role in risk assessment, internal control, and compliance review. She started her career working with start-ups as a leading role and developing strategies i.e., pricing, marketing, budgeting, packaging strategies for a small business (Female owned business) in 2014. Soon in 2015, she got the chance to lead multiple projects with Prime International Consulting. She worked with prime for four consecutive years as an Admin & Finance Officer and Finance Manager, respectively. Working in these roles equipped her with skills and knowledge of budget preparation, budget management, and financial management. She was able to introduce an effective filing system and budget management system to the company. She joined ECG in 2019 as an audit assistant. She graduated with honors from Pune University with a degree in Business Administration in Finance major.

Abbas Ali

Taxation Manager

Abbas Ali

Mr. Abbas Ali is an ACCA (finalist), UK based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He has wide knowledge and experience of the Afghanistan tax system, and his professional experience includes working with two of the Big Four audit firms of the world. He joined ECG in 2021 as Tax Manager, where he leads the ECG tax team in assisting clients with advising on Afghanistan tax laws, obtaining tax exemptions, preparing tax returns, and assisting with tax audits by Afghanistan Revenue Department. Prior to ECG, he started his tax career in 2013 with KPMG Kabul Office and then had the opportunity to serve Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, UHY, and RSM Afghanistan Offices.

His exposure to deal with tax matters of multinational companies, NGOs, Telecom, USAID projects, projects working under BSA (b/w Govt. of Afghanistan & US), Banks and Financial Institutions, Travel and Tour Companies, Hotels, Media, Airline Services, Construction, and Mining & Extraction companies gave him an in-depth knowledge of Afghanistan taxation system as well as financial techniques of different market sectors.

He also worked as a tax trainer for Chemonics Project and Colombo Plan Project (both are USAID projects).

Mr. Abbas also provided valuable services to the SEARAP project (Socio-Economics Activation of Rural Afghanistan) and SCLD project (Strengthening Community-Led Rural Development Support) of Japan International Cooperation Agency in his capacity on key positions of project coordinator, finance, and trainer during 2012 and 2013.

Mohammad Nasim Mustafa

Senior Tax Specialist

Mohammad Nasim Mustafa

Mr. Mustafa joined ECG in 2018 as a Senior Tax Specialist, where he advises and assists clients in Afghanistan with tax compliance.

He started his professional career at the Ministry of Finance in the Afghanistan Revenue Department (ARD). From 2006 to 2009, he worked as a tax officer at the Large Taxpayers Office (LTO). After completing his graduate studies in 2012, he was appointed again as Audit Manager at the LTO of the revenue department at the Ministry of Finance. From 2013 to 2016, he worked as a tax administrator and finance officer at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and from January 2017 to February 2018, he worked as tax administrator at IDS International. Meanwhile, Mr. Mustafa was a lecturer at the Business & Management Institute in Kabul, Afghanistan.

In these roles, he achieved the best employee award from the federal board of revenue (FBR) in Islamabad Pakistan, and an honors and appreciation certificate from the Upper House Parliament of Afghanistan for being an excellent teacher at the Higher Institute of Accounting and Management.

Mr. Mustafa holds an MPA from a management institute affiliated with the University of Pune, India, and a BBA in financial management from Sinhgad College of Commerce, Pune University.

Abdul Ghafoor Rahimi

Tax Specialist

Abdul Ghafoor Rahimi

Since January 2020, Mr. Rahimi has been working with ECG as a Tax Specialist, advising international clients in Afghanistan on tax compliance.

Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Rahimi holds a BBA Degree from AVICENNA University. Mr. Rahimi’s professional career spans over a decade, holding instrumental roles, such as Finance Officer and Finance Manager, in national and international organizations, like Eureka Research/Evaluation, Afghan Development Education and Social Organizations, and Gear International.

Rahmatullah Qurbani

Tax Assistant

Rahmatullah Qurbani

Rahmatullah Qurbani is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the Dunya University of Afghanistan. He has worked with several private companies as a finance and tax officer for more than 3 years.

Rahmatullah is working with Emerging Consulting Group as Tax Assistant since November 2020. His primary duties and responsibilities include assisting the Tax Manager in ECG client tax calculations, filing clients monthly, quarterly, and annual Income Tax Return at SIGTAS, attending follow-up meetings at the tax office to reconcile client tax liabilities and obtaining tax clearance letters.

Mohammad Ozair Hassanyar

Accountant

Mohammad Ozair Hassanyar

Mr. Ozair is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Business Administrative (BBA) at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). He graduated from high school with distinction and has studied the English language for 3 years at top-rated institutions such as TOEFL House & Professional Development Institution of AUAF.

Ozair got his professional career start at the Emerging Consulting Group as Finance Intern in June 2020, and since January 2021 he is working as Finance and Admin Assistant. His main duties include preparing vouchers and posting to Quickbooks online, updating cash book and bank transactions, reconciling the bank account, keep track of employment contracts, logbooks, and attendance sheets, and tax calculations and reporting.

Zahra Qasimi

Finance Associate

Zahra Qasimi

Zahra Qasimi is pursuing her bachelor’s degree (BS) in Accounting at George Masson University (GMU). She got her associate degree in Business Administration from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). She joined ECG in March 2021 as a finance associate preparing vouchers and posting to Quickbooks online, updating cash book and bank transactions, reconciling the bank account. Prior to ECG, from 2017 to 2020, she worked as a billing assistant with Gate Gourmet company. She has also worked as a tax preparer at Safe STEM Institute for 5 months. Moreover, she worked as a finance officer at East Silk Route Logistics LLC (ESR) in Kabul, Afghanistan, from 2012 to 2015. In 2015, she worked at the Baltimore County Department of Social Services in a customer service clerk position for one year.

Temor Shah Ahmadzai

Legal Specialist and Government Liaison

Temor Shah Ahmadzai

Mr. Temor Shah Ahmadzai obtained his bachelor’s degree in law from the Law and Political Science Faculty of Kabul University in 2006. He has received various practical legal training from civil society organizations involved in advocacy developments. Mr. Ahmadzai has more than ten years of experience working with both government entities and private sectors.

Mr. Ahmadzai started his professional career from 2006 till 2007 with the Legal Aid Organization of Afghanistan as a defense lawyer. From 2007 till 2008, he began a new position with Re-examining the Terms of Aid (RTOA) as senior legal advisor and resigned to start a new job with Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF) as general legal manager. Mr. Ahmadzai started a new job as a planning and policy expert with Afghanistan Independent Electoral Complain Commission (IECC) from 2014 till 2015. Early from 2015 till 2016, he was employed as head of the legal training department of Afghanistan Independent Defenders (AID). Mr. Ahmadzai Joined Constellis International Security Companies as AFG Legal Advisor. Since March 2020, Mr. Ahmadzai joined  ECG as a legal specialist and government liaison.

Roheena Wardak

Document Manager/Legal Specialist

Roheena Wardak

She holds a bachelor’s degree in law and political science from Dawat University, Kabul, Afghanistan. She has worked with many national and international organizations in different capacities.

From March 2020, she is working with ECG as a Document Manager/Legal Specialist. She worked as a volunteer peace ambassador at Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) and started her first journey of professional work with a research project of “P2P” regarding countering hate speech and discrimination in Afghanistan.

She was the announcer at all the national conferences of AWN until 2018, one of such conferences was attended by His Excellency President Ghani.

From 2018 to 2019 she has worked as a legal analyst of electoral complaints at Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) and from 2019 to 2020 she worked as documents manager at Olive Group (A Constellis Company).

Edris Ibrahimi

Legal Specialist and Government Liaison

Edris Ibrahimi

Edris Ebrahem’s career Journey started in 2015. He began his professional work as a logistic supervisor with United Sadat Transportation and Logistics Company. As a person who seeks to utilize personal skills, he left the company and started a new job in 2016 as an ANDSF fuel project manager with GEAR International. During his employment with the company, he was promoted from project fuel accountable manager to operation supervisor. Lately, in 2019 Mr. Ibrahimi joined Alliance Worldwide as director of the government relation. In order to promote his legal knowledge and interpersonal skill, in December 2020, he resigned from his position at Alliance worldwide and joined ECG as a legal specialist and government liaison. Currently, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Law and Political Science.

Hakim Hamidi

Legal Specialist and Government Liaison

Hakim Hamidi

Hakim Hamidi’s professional career started in 2002. He began his work as North zone coordinator with Internews Afghanistan from 2002 until 2006.  He left the company and started a new job as a logistic manager with FEFA Afghanistan from 2007 till 2009. During his employment with the company, he was promoted from logistic manager to logistic supervisor. In 2016 Mr. Hamidi joined the Constellis as government liaison and legal specialist. In March 2020, Mr. Hamidi transitioned to ECG as a legal specialist and government liaison. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Persian Literature. He has also received short-term reporting courses from the FEFA Afghanistan.