The Organization
Kudos Afghanistan (Formerly Grant Thornton Afghanistan) is a reputable firm of Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants that has been operating in Afghanistan since 2009. With a strong commitment to excellence, KAF offers a wide range of assurance and advisory services, as well as industry expertise, to meet your specific needs. We are proud to have been the first professional firm in Afghanistan to attain a direct membership from an international brand like Grant Thornton International. From October 2014 to December 2023, the firm was a full member of Grant Thornton International. The firm entered into a membership agreement with 'Kudos International' on April 1, 2024, leading to its rebranding as ‘Kudos Afghanistan’ (KAF). The firm transitioned its name from Grant Thornton Afghanistan to Kudos Afghanistan in December 2024, as confirmed by the name change certificate issued by the Ministry of Finance. Our new brand, Kudos, is a dynamic and rapidly growing international network that is part of IFAC’s forum of firms, with an active presence in more than 52 countries across six continents. Rest assured, our commitment to delivering the highest quality services remains unwavering.
Following are some key points that make us stand out among the crowd.
Our Services in Afghanistan
For over a decade, we have been providing critical services in Afghanistan, focusing on infrastructure development, capacity building, and humanitarian assistance.
Our team has successfully completed over many projects across the provinces, working closely with local communities and international partners.
Few examples of our projects across Afghanistan includes :- LTA for Financial Review of IPs of UN Women Afghanistan
- Evaluation of ‘Enhanced Literacy and Alternative Learning Opportunities’ Project
- Audit of UNESCO ELA Program - implemented by MOE for the year 2016, 2017 and 2018
- Internal Audit of MSI Afghanistan and Verifications of contraceptive services 2021-2023
Management of the Firm
The operations are overseen by two distinguished, skilled partners with an average of over 20 years of experience working with GT, E&Y, KPMG, and other major professional firms. The leadership team includes Mr. Saqib Rehman Qureshi as the CEO and President, alongside Mr. Syed Faheem Raza, who is the Partner responsible for Assurance and Advisory Services. Beside our 25 permanent staff, we also have a team of specialized national and international experts in various fields, as well as experienced staff across all locations in Afghanistan who carry out tasks on a contractual basis.
Professional Development
Training for all staff at KAF is carried out considering the requirements of its international brand – Kudos International. It requires of its member firms that they are committed to ensuring that our people have the skills and expertise necessary to provide the range of quality services and technical excellence required by our clients.
Personnel involved in providing professional services are required to attend all modules of KI’s ‘Audit and Assurance Learning Series’ through KI’s Learning Center (online portal). In these series there are 10+ learning modules which cover topics like, Introduction to ISAs, Audit Evidence, Auditing Accounting Estimates, Risk Assessments, Internal Controls, Journal Entries, Risk of Frauds, Sampling and Professional Skepticism, IT and General Controls, Financial Reporting, Using the Work of an Expert, etc. Each module is comprised of 1 hour of interactive session. A certificate is issued after an objective test with a passing mark of 70%. These are mandatory training courses for each audit staff before deputation to any assurance client.
Data Security & Quality Control
Data Security : Kudos Afghanistan complies with global cybersecurity security standards related to Operating Systems, Disk Encryption, Antivirus, Firewalls, Content Filtering (email and web traffic are scanned), Mobile Device Management, Vulnerability Scanning (computers and servers are scanned for vulnerabilities and they are continually updated and patched appropriately), and Security Awareness Training (all people who access corporate data are educated and assessed regarding cyber risks and best practices, appropriate to their role).
Adopted standards, practices and approach : We always maintain strict quality control assurances over each assignment irrespective of its magnitude, as such all the work executed by Kudos Afghanistan is subject to independent QCR team. In-fact the adherence to international quality standards enables us to comply with the requirements of IFAC. We developed and adopted a robust Quality Management Manual from Dec 2023, fully aligned with the new ISQM 1 issued by IAASB.
Quality Assurance Mechanism : Quality and openness for consultation is embedded in our culture. Quality of services is ensured through following system of quality control in our firm :
- Review of subordinates’ work
- Engagement Quality Control (EQC) Reviews
- Internal Quality Control Review (IQCR)
- International Quality Assurance Review (KAR)
