Internal Auditor
Alfardan Group
Total years of experience :9 years, 2 Months
Responsibilities:
• Led Internal Audit & Fraud Investigation function for the entire hospitality sector within the Group, comprising of 6 five-star luxury hotels, 50+ F&B outlets, including Michelin-star & Celebrity Chef restaurants in Qatar, Turkey & Oman.
• Provided consultation to the Management in improving the effectiveness of internal controls & governance processes.
• Developed a risk-based audit plan and conducted internal audits, risk assessments, fraud risk management, process walkthroughs, and prepared audit reports with value-added recommendations.
• Performed data analytics for fraud detection & revenue assurance and conducted fraud investigations at the behest of the Audit Committee.
Achievements:
• Recognized by the Head of Internal Audit & the Audit Committee at Alfardan Group for professional skepticism, data analysis and report writing skills. - 2022, 2021 & 2020
• Kempinski Hotels S.A. rolled out a few policies at all its hotels globally based on certain risks identified & recommendations made by me for one of its hotels. - 2020
Responsibilities:
• Handled internal controls, audits, compliance, and fraud investigations for the largest cluster of five-star luxury hotels of Marriott International in India.
• Assisted the Management in evaluating & improving the effectiveness of internal controls and governance processes.
• Worked closely with the Marriott APAC Regional Compliance team for compliance issues & fraud investigations.
• Investigated whistleblowing allegations, corruption cases, loyalty program frauds, and employee & vendor frauds.
• Interviewed subjects, obtained confessions & established frauds.
• Maintained a strong control environment at the hotels by setting the right tone at the Top and Middle Management and regularly imparted numerous compliance training & awareness to the staff at all levels.
Achievements:
• Recognized as an Outstanding Performer for establishing a strong control environment at hotels overseen by me in the Internal Control Matrix of Marriott International. - 2018
• Out of 3 hotels in South Asia adjudged by the Marriott APAC Regional Compliance team for having robust controls, 2 hotels were overseen by me. - 2018
Exposure to Manufacturing, Automotive, Retail, Construction & IT sectors
Responsibilities:
• Led and executed various client engagements of fraud investigations, including covert investigations, FCPA violations, siphoning off funds & leakage of confidential data by working with cross-functional teams, including retired personnel from the Military Intelligence of the Indian Army.
• Analyzed & detected frauds in various areas, including submitting fake medical claims to insurance companies. Assisted Senior Managers & Directors in interviewing subjects and establishing frauds.
• Performed disk & email reviews (eDiscovery) using Intella & Relativity. Also, conducted covert investigations for monitoring child labour/slavery on the farms for a leading MNC in crop science/agri-business.
• Executed fraud risk assessments and governance assignments to set up an ethical culture and develop critical policies for clients, like Data Privacy & Confidentiality and Fair Competition.
Responsibilities:
• Handled the ‘Controls & Governance’ function for all the global markets of American Express - Consumer Travel & Lifestyle Services division.
• Hired, trained and led a team of 5 direct reports. Built relationships with American Express; and served as the main point of contact for month-end closure activities, escalations and follow-ups.
• Performed monthly governance over Accounts Reconciliation Status Report & provided insights to Management over risks. Applied controls to ensure data integrity between General Ledger & Sub Ledger.
• Undertook projects for monitoring suspense accounts, identifying & deactivating dormant accounts, standardizing the Chart of Accounts, and drafting SOPs, Desk Instructions and Process Maps.
Achievements:
• Received Customer Excellence Award for receiving excellent feedback from Client/Process Head. - 2015
Responsibilities:
• Handled ‘Invoice Validation & Analytics’ in Procure-to-Pay operations.
• Accountable for validation of commercial parameters of invoices as per the agreements; General Ledger analysis, revenue accounting, provisioning/accruals, reporting shared telecom infrastructure costs, MIS Reporting and Balance Sheet Reconciliations. Provided P&L critiques and cost variance analysis to the Management.
Responsibilities:
• Majorly handled internal audit assignments of the Dairy industry.
• Improved internal controls by plugging revenue leakages & stock pilferages, performed pre-audit of milk procurement and major purchases, and revenue assurance - for the audit client.
Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) - ICAEW Chartered Accountant Business & Finance Professional (BFP)
Executive Education - Business Strategy and Financial Performance
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Forensic Accounting and Fraud Detection (FAFD)
Executive Education - Financial Crime Risk and Prevention
Certified Forensic Accounting Professional (CFAP)
Chartered Accountant (CA)
Bachelor of Commerce, Advanced Accounting and Auditing
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