Islamic finance advisory: structuring, auditing, advising

Behind every sukuk issue, every compliant fund and every new Islamic window there are advisers: structurers, lawyers, auditors, strategy consultants and scholars sitting on Sharia boards. Islamic finance advisory is an expert profession, usually taken up after several years of experience in banking, audit or business law.

This page presents the different branches of advisory work, the employers, what a typical engagement looks like and the career paths that lead there.

The main branches of advisory work

Structuring

The structurer designs a compliant financing arrangement: choice of contract (ijara, murabaha, musharaka, wakala and so on), selection of the underlying assets, possibly the creation of a special purpose vehicle, and the payment flows. Structurers work in investment banks or specialist boutiques, in close contact with lawyers and the Sharia board.

Sharia advisory

The Sharia adviser analyses whether a product or transaction complies and prepares the opinions submitted to the scholars. Fatwas are issued by the board members, who are generally recognised scholars; around them, junior analysts draft notes, compare AAOIFI standards and follow up on cases.

Sharia audit and review

Auditors check after the event that transactions were carried out as planned: contracts signed in the right order, assets actually held, non-compliant income purified. International audit firms often have dedicated teams in the relevant financial centres.

Legal advice

Commercial law firms draft the documentation and make sure the structure is valid both under local law and in the light of Islamic principles.

Strategy and organisational consulting

Consultants support banks launching an Islamic business line: market research, product range design, governance, staff training and information systems.

Who recruits?

• the major audit and consulting firms with an Islamic finance practice, especially in London, Dubai, Bahrain, Riyadh and Kuala Lumpur;
• international law firms active in sukuk and project finance;
• specialist advisory boutiques;
• investment banks, for their structuring teams;
• multilateral organisations such as the Islamic Development Bank, for expert assignments.

In France, these skills are mostly called upon occasionally by firms or institutions with an international client base. The market remains narrow, and international mobility is often a must. London, by contrast, has a long-established Islamic finance advisory scene.

A typical engagement

For a sukuk issue, for example, the work generally follows several stages:

1. analysing the issuer's needs and the assets available;
2. choosing the structure and drafting a transaction diagram;
3. presenting it to the Sharia board and incorporating its comments;
4. drafting the legal documentation;
5. obtaining the compliance opinion and launching the issue;
6. monitoring and Sharia review throughout the life of the instrument.

Days alternate between drafting, meetings, discussions with scholars and lawyers, and work on financial models.

Skills expected

• a thorough command of Islamic contracts and AAOIFI standards;
• solid grounding in corporate finance, accounting or business law;
• the ability to explain technical notions clearly to clients or scholars;
• fluent professional English, with Arabic highly valued;
• precise drafting and a strong sense of confidentiality.

Routes in

Consultants often come from financial audit, investment banking or law. A specialisation completes this foundation: a master's degree, AAOIFI professional certifications, or programmes from specialist institutes in Malaysia, the United Kingdom or the Gulf. For Sharia advisory roles, in-depth training in Islamic jurisprudence and classical Arabic is essential. Our page on Islamic finance and halal training offers pointers to help you choose.

A first job at an Islamic bank or in a compliance team is an excellent foundation; our overview of Islamic finance careers describes these entry points.

Working independently

With experience, some professionals set up as independent consultants: training banking teams, supporting fintech projects, writing reports, carrying out review assignments for funds or charities. This way of working offers great freedom, but it depends on a strong network and a reputation built up over years in recognised institutions.

In France, as soon as you recommend financial products to clients, regulated statuses apply, such as that of financial investment adviser (CIF), with registration and competence requirements. In the UK, giving regulated investment advice requires authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. A consultant must therefore define their activity carefully: organisational consulting or training is not subject to the same rules as investment advice. Check your situation with the competent authorities before approaching clients.

Ethics and independence in advisory work

Advisory work raises questions of independence: can an adviser paid by the client take a critical view of a structure? Governance standards set rules on board composition and conflicts of interest. On a personal level, some professionals have doubts about taking part in structures they consider too close to conventional products; these doubts deserve to be discussed with a qualified scholar.

Compliance questions beyond finance, in food, cosmetics or tourism, are covered on the page about halal compliance consulting. For a more market-facing role, see also careers in compliant asset management.