Md. Zahirul Islam, FCCA

Chief Executive Officer, Axora Global Ltd.

Md. Zahirul Islam is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) with over 15 years of experience across audit, financial management, grants administration, and compliance—working with Big 4-affiliated firms, global NGOs, and multi-million-dollar donor-funded projects. He leads Axora Global Ltd. with a focus on delivering financial integrity, operational excellence, and sustainable client impact.

Zahirul began his career at Hoda Vasi Chowdhury & Co. (former Deloitte representative in Bangladesh), rising from Audit Supervisor to Senior Manager in the Audit & Assurance practice. There, he led statutory audits and advisory assignments for a diverse portfolio of multinational and local clients. He managed group audits for Perfetti Van Melle Bangladesh Pvt. Ltd. (Italy-based MNC), Braitrim Plastiform Bangladesh Ltd. (Australia-based), Mitsui & Co. India, Bangladesh Branch Office (Japan-based), and IATA Bangladesh Branch Office (Canada-based)—reporting directly to Deloitte offices in Singapore and India. He also led engagements for UPS SCS Bangladesh Ltd. (USA-based), SGS Bangladesh Pvt. Ltd. (Switzerland-based), and r-pac Bangladesh Ltd. (USA-based).

Beyond the corporate sector, Zahirul supervised multi-country audits for Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded 11 projects of the Government of Tajikistan and served as Review Manager for the Islamic Development Bank (IDB)-funded Enhancing Quality Seed Supply (EQSS) project with Bangladesh’s Ministry of Agriculture. He also managed audits for development sector clients including Practical Action, Bangladesh, Habitat for Humanity International—Bangladesh, and Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB) , and conducted pre-award assessments and monthly financial monitoring for 26 sub-grantees under Pathfinder International’s USAID-funded NHSDP project.

He then joined Pathfinder International as Senior Grants & Contracts Manager for the USAID-DFID-funded NHSDP project—a five-year, $120 million initiative strengthening Bangladesh’s “Smiling Sun” health network. He managed end-to-end grants administration for 26 local NGOs, conducted pre- and post-award assessments, built partner capacity in financial management, and maintained a clean audit record with no major observations throughout his tenure.

Following this, Zahirul served as Financial Due Diligence Expert at ThinkWell LLC for the USAID-funded Advancing Universal Health Coverage (AUHC) project. In this role, he developed finance and accounting systems for the newly established social enterprise—Surjer Hashi Network (SHN), a network of 399 clinics. He designed due diligence tools, conducted financial assessments, and supported strategic decision-making to help transition the network toward financial sustainability.

As Accounting Manager for Pathfinder International’s $40 million USAID-funded “Shukhi Jibon” project, Zahirul managed cash flow across a complex operating environment, ensured donor compliance, led audit preparations, and mentored finance teams—again achieving unqualified audits with no questioned costs.

Most recently, as Director of Finance at Winrock International for the USAID-funded “Esho Shikhi” project (approx. $38M), he realigned the chart of accounts to enable activity-based budgeting, strengthened internal controls, and delivered real-time financial insights to program leadership—enhancing budget oversight and implementation efficiency.

Across these roles, Zahirul developed deep expertise in Donor compliance (USAID 2 CFR 200, DFID, ADB, IDB); Grants and contracts management across the full project lifecycle; Financial systems strengthening and process automation; Internal controls, audit readiness, and risk management; Capacity building for partner organizations and finance teams.

Zahirul holds an MBA from the University of Dhaka and a BSc (Hons.) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, UK. He is driven by a commitment to integrity, collaboration, and measurable impact—values at the core of Axora’s client promise.