As corporate tax frameworks evolve across the Middle East, businesses face increasingly complex questions about how legislation applies to their operations, structures and international activities. For Shaimaa G El Shazly, Tax Director at Rowanberries Consultancy, addressing these challenges requires a combination of legal interpretation, international tax expertise and an understanding of the policy considerations behind regulatory change.
With a career beginning in 2011, El Shazly has developed expertise spanning international tax advisory, corporate tax legislation and tax policy. Her professional experience includes advising multinational organisations on cross-border tax matters and supporting government stakeholders during significant developments in the UAE’s corporate tax landscape.
Bringing Legal Insight to Corporate Tax Advisory
In her current role at Rowanberries Consultancy, Shaimaa G El Shazly leads the firm’s UAE Corporate Tax practice, overseeing complex advisory and compliance engagements. Her work centres on interpreting legislative requirements, assessing their practical implications for businesses and developing technically grounded advice that supports informed corporate decision-making.
She works with clients to evaluate complex corporate tax positions, understand the application of legislation to their business activities and address the implications of evolving regulatory requirements. This includes providing senior technical direction on advisory matters and helping organisations consider how domestic tax obligations interact with international structures and broader commercial objectives.
Drawing on her legal background and international tax experience, she approaches advisory engagements with an emphasis on legislative interpretation and practical application. Rather than treating tax requirements solely as compliance obligations, her work considers their wider significance for corporate structures, transactions and business decisions.
A Multidisciplinary Foundation in Law and International Tax
El Shazly’s professional perspective is shaped by a multidisciplinary academic background combining law, business and specialised international taxation. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Laws, an MBA and an Advanced Diploma in International Taxation (ADIT), alongside executive education in Comparative Tax Policy and Administration at Harvard Kennedy School.
This combination of academic training and professional experience enables her to examine tax matters through both legal and commercial perspectives. It is particularly relevant to international tax developments, where interpreting legislation requires an understanding of domestic regulatory frameworks, cross-border arrangements and the objectives of international tax policy.
Her technical interests and professional work extend to the OECD’s international tax initiatives, including the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) framework and Pillar Two. She has also contributed to translating complex tax requirements into structured training materials and government-focused guidance, connecting legislative developments with their practical implementation.
Effective international tax advisory requires an understanding of both the legal framework and the policy objectives that shape its application.
Contributing to Tax Policy and Legislative Interpretation
A significant dimension of El Shazly’s career has been her involvement in international tax advisory and legislative interpretation through her previous roles at EY and KPMG Middle East. These positions provided experience in addressing complex tax developments, interpreting international standards and supporting the application of emerging regulatory frameworks.
At EY, she contributed to work supporting senior government stakeholders during the introduction of the UAE Corporate Tax regime. Her responsibilities included preparing policy briefs, technical analyses and executive presentations relating to legislative developments and their implementation. This work required examining technical requirements, interpreting policy considerations and communicating complex tax matters in a structured and accessible manner.
Her experience at KPMG Middle East further strengthened her international tax advisory capabilities. She led engagements involving cross-border corporate structures, OECD BEPS developments and Economic Substance Regulations, working on matters that required coordination across jurisdictions and careful consideration of international tax principles.
Together, these experiences established a strong foundation in the relationship between international tax standards, domestic legislation and practical business application. They also strengthened her ability to assess complex tax positions in environments where regulatory requirements and commercial considerations frequently intersect.
International Experience Across Regulatory Environments
Earlier in her career, El Shazly gained experience at Accenture in the Middle East, supporting projects involving workforce mobility and regulatory requirements. This exposure contributed to her understanding of how multinational organisations operate within different legal and administrative environments.
Combined with her subsequent work in international taxation, this experience has informed her approach to advising organisations with complex regional and cross-border operations. Her professional development reflects a progression from broader regulatory considerations towards specialised expertise in corporate tax, international taxation and tax policy.
Connecting Tax Policy with Business Practice
As international tax standards and domestic corporate tax regimes continue to develop, El Shazly’s professional focus remains on the interpretation and practical application of legislation. Her experience across professional services, policy-related work and corporate tax advisory provides a perspective that connects technical requirements with the decisions businesses must make.
Through her leadership at Rowanberries Consultancy, she continues to support organisations in understanding complex tax obligations and assessing how legislative developments affect their operations. Her work demonstrates the importance of combining legal knowledge, international tax expertise and commercial awareness in an increasingly interconnected regulatory environment.
Recognition by The Inspired
As part of its Women Who Inspire series, The Inspired recognises Shaimaa G El Shazly for her contributions to international tax advisory, corporate tax policy and legislative interpretation. Her career reflects a commitment to developing specialised expertise and applying it to complex regulatory and business challenges.
From supporting government stakeholders during important tax developments to leading corporate tax advisory engagements, her professional journey highlights the value of combining legal insight with technical knowledge and practical experience. She represents a generation of tax professionals contributing to the development and application of increasingly sophisticated tax frameworks across the region.
