Muhammad Walid Azhar

Chartered Accountant (ACA) | Associate Director, Assurance & Internal Controls | 12+ Years Big 4

Strategic and results-driven Chartered Accountant with 12+ years in Big 4 across assurance, internal controls, internal audit, ESG, and regulatory compliance. Currently Associate Director at KPMG Saudi Arabia, where I pioneered ESG assurance in the Middle East and scaled the practice to ~$2M annual revenue. Proven ability to deliver ICFR, statutory assurance, ESG assurance, internal audits, and risk advisory for diversified clients in Financial and Non-financial sector.

Recognized for commercial leadership, BD growth, and regulatory influence with SOCPA, SAMA, and CMA, while maintaining a strong technical foundation in ISAE 3000, ISRS 4400, COSO, and ESG frameworks.

Professional Highlights:

• ICFR (COSO): Delivered statutory ICFR engagement for listed banks in Pakistan under State Bank guidelines, aligned with COSO. Reviewed RCMs, tested controls, identified gaps, and drove remediation with management.
• Sustainability Reporting Internal Controls Leader (ICSR): Led the first-ever Internal Controls over Sustainability Reporting (ICSR) in the Middle East for Saudi Aramco, managing 80+ SMEs across 20+ departments, designing/testing controls over 74 processes; received KPMG Exceptional Client Service Award for this project.
• Regulatory & Capital Market Assurance: Executed Article 71 assurance, capital increase/reduction, Sukuk comfort letters, client money and SAMA prudential returns reports for banks, financing, and capital market entities.
• Business Development & Market Growth: Supported building KPMG middle east ESG Assurance service line from scratch, growing it to more than $2M portfolio (2024 and 2025); led cross-border BD with UAE, Jordan, Oman & Lebanon; delivered high-level client/regulator awareness sessions; positioned KPMG as ESG market leader in KSA.
• Regulatory Engagement & Thought Leadership: Presented to SOCPA, SAMA, and CMA shaping standards and raising market awareness on ESG reporting and assurance. Delivered tailored board/audit committee workshops and market-wide awareness sessions for C-suite clients.
• Audit Expertise: Led audits for banks, financing firms, and asset managers in KSA and Pakistan; experience spans both financial services and non-financial industries (manufacturing, services, oil & gas). One major bank audit selected for Global Quality Review with a successful rating.

Core Strengths:

Assurance & Internal Controls • ICFR & ICSR • ISAE 3000 / ISRS 4400 • ESG Assurance • Risk & Compliance Advisory • Internal Audit • Financial Services Audit • Regulatory & Stakeholder Engagement (SOCPA, CMA, SAMA) • Business Development & Market Growth • Client Relationship Leadership • Cross-Border Collaboration • Team Leadership & Mentoring

• Passionate about health and fitness—driving personal discipline and high performance both in and out of the workplace.

• KAFOU Award – KPMG Exceptional Client Service
• Audit engagement selected for KPMG Global Quality Review
• Delivered a high-impact ESG assurance engagement for one of the Kingdom’s largest entities, which was globally recognized and publicly commended for its quality and execution

Chartered Accountancy