IBefore you apply
What we can and cannot offer
Every firm's careers page says the same things. Here is the part that is actually different, in both directions.
Why MAC / Careers
You will be in the room. That is the whole offer.
A small firm doing serious work — Chinese state-owned infrastructure groups, donor-funded programmes, listed-entity controls testing, cross-border compliance into the Gulf.
We cannot offer you the largest brand on your CV. What we can offer is that the partner reviewing your file knows your name, that you will meet clients in your first year rather than your third, and that you will see a whole engagement instead of one section of one.
- ICAP-Approved Training Organisation in Practice
- CA Articleship
- Audit exposure toward CoP
- 13 Industries
- Islamabad
What you get here
- Work reviewed in layers. Every file goes through a second qualified reviewer, and the partner reviews throughout — giving you more than one perspective on your own work, not just a sign-off.
- Whole engagements, not fragments. You will plan, execute and report — not spend a year on one section of one audit.
- Client contact early. You will sit in meetings, ask the questions and take the calls.
- Genuine variety. Exposure across multiple industries and service lines, not the same type of file year after year.
- Cross-discipline exposure. Tax, IT governance, corporate, legal and sustainability work happens in the same office you do.
- Work that is inspected. Our files go to ICAP's Quality Control Review, so the standard is externally set.
- Training inside practice. As an ICAP-approved TOiP, audit experience gained here counts toward the Certificate of Practice.
What we cannot offer
- A Big Four name on your CV. If that is the priority, take it — it is a legitimate one.
- A narrow lane to settle into early. You will be asked to learn things outside your comfort rather than specialise inside one discipline from day one.
- A large cohort. You will not join fifty people starting the same week.
- A standing international secondment. Most cross-border work is delivered from Islamabad, though a placement abroad can happen depending on the engagement.
- Anonymity. In a firm this size, your work is visible. That cuts both ways.
People who thrive here want responsibility earlier than they would get it elsewhere and are willing to be uncomfortable to have it. People who want structure, scale and a clearly defined lane are better served by a larger firm, and we will say so at interview.
IIWho we hire
Four routes in
01
CA trainees — articleship
Muhammad Abbas & Co. is an ICAP-approved Training Organisation in Practice. We take CA trainee students under Directive 1.03 and train them across assurance, taxation and advisory rather than in a single service line.
- You will need
- Eligibility under ICAP's trainee registration requirements, and a willingness to be given real work early
- You will get
- Exposure across statutory audit, project and donor-funded audits, taxation, corporate compliance and IT controls — with audit experience that counts toward the Certificate of Practice
- Training period
- As prescribed by ICAP for a Training Organisation in Practice
02
Qualified and part-qualified professionals
Chartered accountants, CA finalists, PIPFA and ACCA members joining at supervisor, manager or director level in assurance, taxation or advisory.
- You will need
- Demonstrable engagement ownership and the judgement to run a file with a partner rather than under one
- You will get
- A named discipline, technical responsibility, and client relationships of your own
03
Specialists
Tax practitioners, IT governance and cybersecurity professionals, financial modellers, legal counsel and sustainability reporting specialists.
- You will need
- Depth in your discipline and an interest in applying it inside engagements rather than beside them
- You will get
- Work that crosses into your specialism constantly, because the firm is built so it does
04
Internships
Short placements for students and graduates in accounting, finance, law and information systems, scheduled around academic commitments.
- You will need
- Curiosity and reliability. Prior experience is not expected
- You will get
- Real engagement work with supervision, not filing and photocopying
Training Organisation in Practice
Why training inside practice matters for your Certificate of Practice
Under ICAP's rules, a student who trains at a Training Organisation outside practice and later wants a Certificate of Practice must complete two further years of training or work experience at a Training Organisation in Practice — including one year in audit.
Training here does not create that gap. As a TOiP, the audit experience you gain at MAC counts toward the Certificate of Practice directly. If you intend to hold a practising certificate one day — your own firm, your own signature — where you train now decides how long that takes.
Training in practice is governed by ICAP Directive 1.03, which sets the technical competency areas a Training Organisation must give trainees exposure to. It is worth reading before you choose where to apply, at any firm.
IIIHow people grow here
Development is structural, not aspirational
01
Study support
For CA trainees, study leave and examination support follow ICAP's prescribed Training Regulations. Examination leave is planned into engagement scheduling rather than negotiated around it.
02
Continuing professional development
ICAP sets CPD requirements for members and the firm meets them as a condition of registration. Technical updates on IFRS, the annual Finance Act, ISQM and sustainability standards are run internally.
03
Rotation across disciplines
Assurance staff work on tax engagements. Tax staff see audit files. It produces slower specialisation and much better judgement, and it is why our people can hold a problem that crosses a boundary.
04
Review as teaching
Every file is reviewed by a second qualified professional before it leaves. For the person who prepared it, that review is the most useful hour of the engagement.
05
Teaching as discipline
Our Managing Partner serves as visiting faculty for Taxation and Financial Reporting. Explaining a standard to someone learning it is the most reliable way of knowing it, and staff are encouraged into that.
IVThe process
How hiring works, and how long it takes
You will hear from us either way. Silence after an application is a discourtesy, not a decision.
01
Application
CV and a short note on why this firm rather than another. The note matters more than the CV formatting — we read it.
02
Screening call
A short conversation to understand what you are looking for and to tell you honestly whether we have it.
03
Technical discussion
With the lead for the discipline you are applying into. Expect to be asked how you would approach something rather than to recite a standard.
04
Partner conversation
Every hire meets a partner before an offer is made. In a firm this size that is not a formality — it is the decision.
05
Offer and start
Written terms, a named supervisor, and a first engagement identified before you arrive.
VCurrent openings
No open roles right now
That does not mean we are not hiring.
We still want to hear from you
We hire when we meet someone we want rather than only when a seat is empty. If you are the right person, tell us what you would want to do here and why.
Send a speculative applicationVICommon questions
Before you ask
Are you an ICAP-approved Training Organisation?
Yes. Muhammad Abbas & Co. is an ICAP-approved Training Organisation in Practice (TOiP) and takes CA trainee students under ICAP Directive 1.03. Training with us is training inside practice, which means the audit experience gained counts toward the Certificate of Practice — unlike training completed outside practice, which requires two further years at a TOiP before a practising certificate can be obtained.
Will I get exposure outside audit?
Yes, and it is deliberate. Assurance staff work on tax engagements and see corporate, IT governance and sustainability work. Specialisation comes later here than it does in a larger firm, which produces slower narrowing and better judgement.
What kind of clients would I actually work on?
Chinese state-owned construction groups delivering infrastructure, fibre and telecom operators, technology companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, donor-funded development programmes, endowment funds and public sector bodies. Thirteen industries across more than sixty clients.
Do you support examination study?
Yes. For CA trainees, study leave follows ICAP's prescribed Training Regulations and is planned into engagement scheduling rather than negotiated around it. Technical updates on IFRS, the Finance Act, ISQM and sustainability standards are run internally.
Is remote or hybrid working possible?
Audit fieldwork generally requires site presence. Accounting, tax and advisory work is frequently performed remotely, and our Gulf and international engagements are delivered entirely so. Arrangements are agreed by role.
I am qualified overseas. Can I apply?
Yes. Recognition and registration requirements vary by qualification and by the work you would perform, and we will tell you plainly at the screening stage what is possible and what is not.
How long does the process take?
It depends on the role and how quickly schedules align, but the process typically takes a few weeks from application to decision — and you will hear from us either way, even if the answer is no.
If you want to know what the firm actually values before you apply, read the values page. Each one is written with what it costs us attached.
Join us
Tell us what you want to build.
Send a CV and a short note on why this firm rather than another. Every application is read by a person, and every applicant gets an answer.