Government group
AED 15B assets
- Framework
- IFRS, ISA
- Role
- Engagement In-Charge
AED 60M+ misstatements identified
Grant Thornton UAE alumna
Aditi Sharma
External auditor, ACCA. I trace financial-reporting issues to the process and control weaknesses behind them, and write conclusions that hold up in review.
Open to senior roles
- Seeking
- Senior audit and assuranceToronto and the GTA, hybrid or onsite
- Qualification
- ACCA, November 2025Top Affiliate, UAE
Fastest way to reach me
aditi.sharma@email.com
4 yrs
External audit, Intern to Engagement In-Charge
10+
Concurrent IFRS and ISA engagements, 7 industries
AED60M+
Material misstatements found in one AED 15B group
2–3
Associates supervised and reviewed per engagement
Selected work
One engagement from practice and two Canadian-framework simulations. Filled blue tags mark real work; outlined tags mark fictional practice cases.
Real engagement, client withheld
An AED 15B government group whose assets did not match what had been built
As Engagement In-Charge, I traced property and construction balances back to the documents behind them.
AED 15BGroup assets
60M+AED misstated
3–4Subsidiaries at once
5 moTo issue group statements
Problem
From untransferred CWIP to outdated fair values, property accounting gaps affected asset reporting.
What I did
Traced balances to contracts, completion certificates and valuations across several subsidiaries in parallel.
Result
Issues behind AED 60M+ in material misstatements, which the client corrected, and a recommendation for SAP-based project tracking that the client is considering.
How each balance was tested
Four asset classes, three evidence sourcesBalances in scope
- Land
- Buildings
- Investment property
- Construction-in-progress
Traced to
- Contracts
- Completion certificates
- Valuations
Outcome
- AED 60M+ identified
- Reclassification and cut-off
- Misstatements corrected by the client
- SAP tracking recommended, under client consideration
Simulation, fictional entity, ASPE and CAS
NorthStar Precision: the ledger said sold, the shipping records said otherwise
A fictional Ontario-based component manufacturer, NorthStar Precision faced potential discrepancies between recorded sales, shipping documentation, customer acceptance and product returns.
CAD 82MRevenue
CAD 57MAssets
240Employees
Dec 312025 year end
Each finding against performance materiality
CADOverall materiality: 3% of revenue, CAD 2,460,000. Performance materiality: 65%, CAD 1,599,000. The dashed line marks performance materiality; each finding is compared with it on its own, not added up.
Returned goods: cost to NRV
CADProposed under ASPE 3031, not a completed correction.
Follow each finding to its evidence
Select a findingRevenue cut-off
- LedgerInvoice posted December 30.
- ContractRisks and rewards pass on delivery; no bill-and-hold terms.
- ShippingGoods left the warehouse January 2, after year end.
- ASPE 3400The revenue belongs in 2026.
- Entry
Proposed journal entry Account Dr Cr Revenue 420,000 Trade receivables 420,000
Disputed sales and returns
- LedgerCAD 1,184,700 still in revenue and receivables.
- ContractsTwo customers exercised rejection rights.
- WarehouseReturns in quarantine: cost CAD 730,000, NRV CAD 560,000.
- ASPE 3031Reinstate at the lower of cost and NRV.
- Entries
Proposed journal entries Account Dr Cr Revenue 1,184,700 Trade receivables 1,184,700 Inventory 560,000 Inventory write-down 170,000 Cost of sales 730,000
Projected valuation error
- TestSubsequent selling prices compared with carrying cost.
- ResultPart of the sample sold below cost.
- ProjectionEstimate of potential misstatement amounting to CAD 164,615 in the wider inventory population.
Subsidiary investment
- LedgerCAD 6M acquisition recorded as identifiable net assets of CAD 5M and separate goodwill of CAD 1M in the parent's standalone books.
- PolicyCost method elected under ASPE Section 1591.
- TreatmentReclassify the separately recorded net assets and goodwill to a single investment in subsidiary of CAD 6M, subject to cost method opted by the Company.
In the simulation, management rejected some proposed adjustments, so nothing here is described as corrected.
Risks assessed in the audit plan
ASPE, risk-based plan- Materiality
- Revenue cut-off
- Inventory valuation
- Foreign-currency receivables
- Management override
- Going concern
Audit approach
Four steps- Sales contractsAcceptance and rejection clauses
- Physical checkQuarantine holds and return receipts
- NRV under ASPE 3031Rework costs and selling prices
- Technical memoProposed entries and key issues
Simulation, fictional entity, PSAS 3150
Grand River Infrastructure: built, in use, and still sitting in CWIP
A fictional Ontario authority where engineering finished projects and Finance never heard about it, so depreciation never started.
CAD 1.25BAssets
CAD 940MCapital assets
18Active projects
Mar 312027 year end
Inside the CAD 210M CWIP
CAD millionsAbout 46% of the balance was flagged. Classification, expense and depreciation are separate measures, not one loss.
Recalculate the missing depreciation
Pick a project| Closing CWIP balance | 48,000,000 | |
| Useful life | ÷ | 35 years |
| Annual depreciation | = | 1,371,429 |
| Days in use to March 31 (from Oct 1, 2026) | × | 182 / 365 |
| Not recorded | = | 683,836 |
Three projects, footedCWIP 88,000,000, depreciation 975,178
Risks assessed
PSAS, public sector- Project cut-off
- Asset classification
- Depreciation
- Unsupported additions
- Manual project tracking
Proposed control: close the gap between engineering and Finance
Proposed in the case, not implemented- Milestone tracking
- Available-for-use alert
- Completion certificate upload
- Finance review and approval
- Transfer to capital assets
- Monthly ledger reconciliation
Experience
Four years at Grant Thornton UAE, running my own engagements from Associate 1 as client size and scope grew.
Grant Thornton UAE
Sharjah, Oct 2022 to Aug 2026Intern
Associate 1Assoc. 1In-Charge
Associate 2Assoc. 2In-Charge
Associate 3Assoc. 3In-Charge
Engagement In-Charge from Associate 1, with client size and scope growing at each level.
Highlights
- Led and supported 10+ concurrent IFRS and ISA audits for private, listed, government and semi-government entities.
- Owned planning, materiality, budgets, fieldwork, review and Partner reporting for teams of two to three.
- Reconciled IFRS 4 balances to IFRS 17 results for a listed insurer with AED 1.5B in assets.
- Found IFRS 15 and IAS 16 errors that led to a prior-period restatement.
- Closed engagements in about one to three weeks, coordinating three to four subsidiaries at once on larger group audits.
- Led audit recovery for a large government group, helping issue consolidated statements within five months.
- Reviewed junior workpapers, cutting Manager review time by roughly 20 to 30%, based on engagement feedback.
- Ran control walkthroughs and tests, and wrote technical memos, IFRS financial statements, key-issues memos, management letters and executive reports.
- Highest annual rating two cycles running; five CLEARR recognition awards.
Selected engagements
Clients withheldListed insurer
AED 1.5B assets
- Framework
- IFRS 4 to IFRS 17
- Role
- Executed the audit
Transition balances reconciled
Group audit recovery
Several subsidiaries
- Framework
- IFRS, ISA
- Role
- Coordinated procedures
Group statements in five months
Service-revenue entities
Group components
- Framework
- IFRS 15, IAS 16
- Role
- Identified the issues
Supported a prior-period restatement
What I bring
The problems audit teams spend the most time on, the skills behind them, and where each standard has been applied.
IFRS 15, ASPE 3400
Revenue in the wrong period
Cut-off, shipping terms and bill-and-hold, tested to the documents.
IAS 16, PSAS 3150
Assets stuck in construction
Commissioning evidence checked against what Finance still shows as in progress.
IFRS 17
Insurance transitions
Premiums, claims, reserves and receivables, reconciled to actuarial reports.
IAS 2, ASPE 3031
Inventory at the wrong value
Selling prices and returns tested for lower of cost and NRV.
ISA 600
Group files running late
Clear request lists and parallel work across three to four subsidiaries.
Reporting
Findings that need to land
Workpaper review, technical memos and management letters.
External assurance
- IFRS
- ISA
- Financial statement audits
- Audit planning
- Risk assessment
- Materiality
- Substantive testing
- Control testing
- Group audits
- Audit completion
- Financial reporting
Reporting and controls
- Technical accounting
- IFRS 17 audit exposure
- PPE and CWIP
- Revenue recognition
- Valuation
- Internal controls
- Root-cause analysis
- Key-issues memoranda
- Management letters
Engagement leadership
- Engagement planning
- Budgets and timelines
- Client communication
- Workpaper review
- Issue escalation
- Team supervision
- Associate coaching
- Partner reporting
Industries
- Insurance
- Government
- Manufacturing
- Education
- Retail
- Real estate and property
- Hospitality
- Healthcare
Technology
- CaseWare IDEA
- Power BI
- Tableau
- Advanced Excel
- QuickBooks
- Audit software
Canadian development
Developing- Canadian Auditing Standards
- ASPE
- PSAS
- CSQM
- Canadian audit documentation
- Canadian assurance practice
Professional development
- Cryptocurrency Financial Crime Compliance BootcampFinancial Crime Academy, Jul 2022
- Money Laundering and AML ComplianceFinancial Crime Academy, Jul 2022
- Fundamentals of GCC TaxationCanadian University Dubai and Tecklenborgh.com, Feb 2022
Where each standard has been applied
| Standard | Grant Thornton | NorthStar | Grand River |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISA | – | – | |
| IFRS 15 | – | – | |
| IAS 16 | – | – | |
| IFRS 17 | – | – | |
| CAS | – | ||
| ASPE 3400, 3031, 1591 | – | – | |
| PSAS 3150 | – | – |
Credentials
- ACCAAssociation of Chartered Certified Accountants, November 2025
- ACCA Top Affiliate, UAEDecember 2023
- BBA, Accounting and FinanceCanadian University Dubai, GPA 4.0/4.0, Sep 2019 to May 2022
- ACCA prizewinner, twiceMiddle East, Advanced Taxation (Mar 2023); UAE, Financial Reporting (Sep 2022)
- Certified Fraud ExaminerACFE, in progress
- Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak AwardFor excellence, 2019
Let's talk about your next senior.
Open to Senior External Audit, Senior Assurance and Financial Reporting roles across Toronto and the GTA.
NorthStar Precision Manufacturing and Grand River Infrastructure Agency are fictional entities built as independent learning projects in CAS, ASPE and PSAS; their figures are not client results and their recommendations were not implemented. Grant Thornton figures reflect actual engagements, with clients withheld. © 2026 Aditi Sharma.