01
Audit and financial reporting discipline
Experience in audit planning, fieldwork, financial statement preparation, documentation, risk assessment and engagement completion.
Hello, I'm
Abirami Shankar
Audit Associate II | External Audit & Financial Reporting | Process Improvement, Automation & Applied AI
I work across
Rotating focus areas: Finance, External Audit, Financial Reporting, Process Improvement, Automation, Applied AI. Currently: Finance
to improve how financial work gets done.
Finance and audit professional combining technical accounting, engagement ownership and practical technology to create clearer, more efficient ways of working.
Based in Singapore · Exploring finance transformation, reporting and technology-enabled finance opportunities
01
About
Professional overview
I am a Singapore-based finance and audit professional with experience across external audit, financial reporting and finance operations. My career has included roles at Kreston Helmi Talib, KPMG, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Deloitte.
In my current role as an Audit Associate II, I manage multiple audit engagements, prepare financial statements and audit documentation, evaluate technical accounting matters and coordinate directly with clients throughout planning, fieldwork and completion. My experience includes consolidations, impairment, revenue recognition, contract liabilities, leases, related-party transactions and group reporting.
I am particularly interested in how technology can improve finance work. I explore practical applications of AI, automation and workflow design to reduce repetitive tasks, strengthen documentation and support better professional judgement.
Strong financial fundamentals. Better workflows. Thoughtful use of AI.
My approach is simple: combine strong financial fundamentals with thoughtful technology to improve accuracy, consistency and efficiency while maintaining professional judgement, confidentiality and human review.
I am currently exploring opportunities in financial reporting, regional finance, controllership, internal audit, finance transformation and technology-enabled finance.
Target role categories
- Senior Finance Analyst
- Financial Reporting
- Regional Finance
- Controllership
- Internal Audit
- Risk and Controls
- Finance Transformation
- Technology-enabled Finance
- Accounting Advisory
- Process Improvement
02
Professional themes
Four strengths that shape my work
Credible themes for finance roles spanning reporting, controllership, internal audit, transformation and technology-enabled operations.
02
Technical accounting research and judgement
Exposure to consolidations, impairment, revenue recognition, contract liabilities, leases, related-party transactions and group reporting.
03
Process improvement and workflow design
Ability to identify repetitive or inefficient workflows and propose more structured, scalable approaches.
04
Applied AI and automation for finance
Experience researching practical applications of AI, PowerShell, workflow automation, data filtering, journal-entry matching and automated data extraction.
03
Impact
Selected Audit Experience
Verified figures from the current Kreston Helmi Talib roles. Associate II and Associate I metrics are listed separately and are not cumulative career totals.
By role — not double-counted career totals
14
Audit clients managed
Audit Associate II portfolio
14
Financial statements prepared
Within eight months as Associate II
4
Consolidation engagements
Group reporting as Associate II
15
Engagements independently managed
As Audit Associate I
15
Financial statements prepared
As Audit Associate I
8 + 7
First-year and recurring audits
8 first-year · 7 recurring (Associate I)
2
Consolidation engagements
Group reporting as Associate I
1
AI & automation initiative
Co-developed and presented (Associate II)
04
Experience
Audit and finance experience
Full-time audit roles first, then regulatory, internship and earlier experience. Kreston Helmi Talib is shown as Associate II and Associate I. KPMG is a separate previous employer.
Current employer
Kreston Helmi Talib
Full-time
January 2026 – Present
Singapore
Audit Associate II
Promoted to Audit Associate II with increased responsibility for independently managing a growing portfolio of audit engagements, handling complex and judgemental audit areas, and coordinating engagements from planning through completion.
- Manage a portfolio spanning 14 audit clients, taking ownership of engagement planning, client coordination, fieldwork, financial reporting and engagement completion.
- Prepared 14 sets of Financial Statements within eight months, ensuring compliance with applicable Financial Reporting Standards and consistency with supporting audit documentation.
- Manage 4 consolidation engagements, representing increased exposure to group reporting, consolidation workings, consolidation adjustments and group-level financial statement disclosures.
- Execute and develop audit approaches across a broad range of complex and judgemental areas, including impairment assessments, revenue recognition, principal-versus-agent considerations, contract assets and liabilities, leases and fair-value assessments.
- Independently research Financial Reporting Standards and firm guidance to evaluate technical accounting matters and develop well-supported audit approaches and accounting conclusions for discussion with managers and partners.
- Identified and implemented more efficient audit approaches for high-volume related-party transactions, significantly reducing manual confirmation procedures while maintaining appropriate audit coverage.
- Lead client discussions on changes in business activities, accounting treatments, audit adjustments and supporting documentation, translating technical accounting requirements into clear and practical recommendations.
- Co-developed and presented an internal AI and Audit Automation initiative, exploring workflow automation, PowerShell-based engagement setup and completion tracking, journal-entry matching, general-ledger filtering and automated data extraction to improve audit efficiency and documentation quality.
Previous employer
Kreston Helmi Talib
Full-time
November 2024 – January 2026
Singapore
Audit Associate I
Built a strong foundation in end-to-end audit execution, progressing to independently managing a substantial client portfolio and taking ownership of engagements from fieldwork through financial reporting and completion.
- Independently managed 15 audit engagements, including 8 first-year audits and 7 recurring engagements, taking ownership of client communication, audit fieldwork, outstanding matters and engagement completion.
- Prepared 15 complete sets of Financial Statements, ensuring compliance with applicable Financial Reporting Standards and alignment with supporting audit documentation.
- Led day-to-day execution across a diverse portfolio of clients, coordinating PBC requests, resolving audit queries and monitoring engagement progress to support reporting deadlines.
- Performed audit procedures across a broad range of financial statement areas, including revenue, impairment, leases, related-party transactions, consolidations and financial statement disclosures.
- Gained hands-on group reporting experience through 2 consolidation engagements, preparing consolidation workings and supporting audit documentation.
- Researched relevant Financial Reporting Standards and firm guidance to support technical accounting assessments, audit conclusions and higher-quality documentation.
Previous employer
KPMG
Full-time
January 2024 – November 2024
Singapore
Audit Associate
Supported external audit engagements with a focus on documentation quality, risk assessment, controls and stakeholder coordination.
- Executed audit procedures across financial statement areas and prepared clear supporting documentation.
- Analysed client records, assessed audit risks and evaluated relevant internal controls.
- Prepared working papers and contributed to financial statement and audit-reporting processes.
- Coordinated with engagement teams and client stakeholders to resolve outstanding audit matters.
- Applied relevant accounting and auditing standards when completing assigned work.
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Temporary Finance Assistant
September 2023 – December 2023
Singapore
Supported finance operations in a regulatory environment with a focus on accuracy, reconciliations and controlled processing.
- Recorded daily receipts in the Bill Aggregator and maintained accurate transaction records.
- Performed MEPS+ inward repair activities for Vostro payments.
- Completed weekly and monthly bank reconciliations across six bank accounts.
- Processed ad-hoc CISNET and OPERA receipts, bank transactions and refunds.
- Reviewed international revenue classifications for services and goods provided outside Singapore.
Deloitte Asia Pacific
Audit Fastrack Intern
December 2022 – September 2023
Singapore
Supported multi-entity audit engagements with trial balance work, consolidated reporting and deadline management.
- Contributed to approximately 15 audit engagements involving multiple entities and reporting requirements.
- Updated trial balances, financial statement schedules, materiality calculations and audit documentation.
- Prepared and updated consolidated financial statements, IFRS checklists and relevant audit manuals.
- Performed vouching, sampling, revenue reconciliation and testing across profit-and-loss and balance-sheet accounts.
- Used SAP and audit platforms to retrieve documents and complete assigned audit procedures.
- Coordinated with engagement teams and client contacts while managing multiple deadlines.
Mothercare Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong
Finance Intern
August 2022 – November 2022
Singapore
Supported regional finance control activities and day-to-day transaction monitoring.
- Prepared supporting reports for bank reconciliation.
- Monitored bank transactions and investigated discrepancies.
- Reconciled differences between company accounts and financial records.
Leadership and earlier experience
SIM Career Champs
Director of Partnerships and Engagement
Coordinated career and internship initiatives involving external organisations and student participants.
August 2022 – January 2023
SIM Career Champs
Partnerships and Engagement Associate Member
Student leadership and engagement
September 2021 – August 2022
SIM Accounting Association
Research and Editorial Subcommittee Member
Contributed to accounting-industry editorial content and professional-development initiatives.
September 2021 – February 2022
National Institute of Education
Research Assistant
Supported short-term research activities with attention to accuracy and documentation.
March 2021 – April 2021
The Learning Lab
Teaching Assistant
Assisted classroom delivery and student support in a structured learning environment.
July 2020 – September 2020
Ministry of Education, Singapore
Administrative Temporary Staff
Supported day-to-day administrative operations and accurate record-keeping.
January 2019 – May 2019
05
Capabilities
Finance, Audit & Intelligent Workflows
I am proficient in applying AI tools and experienced in practical AI-assisted finance workflows. Technology is a means to improve accuracy, consistency and efficiency—not an end in itself.
I use AI to strengthen professional work—not to replace professional judgement.
01
Audit workflow design
Structuring engagement folders, trackers, documentation processes and completion workflows.
02
AI-assisted finance work
Using AI to support research, summarisation, drafting, structured analysis, brainstorming and workflow improvement while retaining human review.
03
Data and reconciliation
General-ledger filtering, journal-entry matching, transaction review, reconciliation and exception identification.
04
Automation concepts
PowerShell-based folder creation, Outlook workflow automation, repeatable file structures and automated data extraction.
05
Governance and judgement
Maintaining confidentiality, source verification, professional scepticism and human oversight when applying AI.
06
Case studies
Selected projects
Examples are anonymised and presented without confidential client information.
01
Compressed Group Reporting
Anonymised example
Context. Group reporting work required consolidation support under a shortened delivery window.
- Challenge
- A consolidation engagement required supporting documentation within a compressed reporting timeline.
- Approach
- Planned consolidation work earlier, identified required documents in advance, and followed up proactively with stakeholders.
- Outcome
- Improved the timely completion of consolidation documentation and supported the group reporting deadline.
Capabilities demonstrated
- Planning
- Consolidation
- Stakeholder coordination
- Deadline management
02
Technical Accounting Research
Anonymised example
Context. Business activity changes raised a technical accounting question requiring careful analysis.
- Challenge
- Changes in a client’s business activities created a principal-versus-agent accounting consideration.
- Approach
- Researched the relevant financial reporting requirements and prepared technical support for discussion with the engagement team.
- Outcome
- Strengthened the audit documentation and the basis for the engagement conclusion.
Capabilities demonstrated
- Technical accounting
- Research
- Professional judgement
- Documentation
03
Audit Automation Initiative
Anonymised example
Context. Audit teams spent significant time on repetitive administrative and data-processing tasks.
- Challenge
- Audit teams perform repetitive administrative, tracking, data-processing and documentation tasks.
- Approach
- Co-developed an internal initiative exploring AI, PowerShell, email automation, general-ledger filtering, journal matching and automated data extraction.
- Outcome
- Demonstrated practical opportunities to improve efficiency, consistency and documentation quality.
Capabilities demonstrated
- Applied AI
- Automation
- Process design
- Presentation
- Collaboration
07
Career progression
A continuous path toward ownership and intelligent workflows
Deloitte → MAS → KPMG → Kreston Helmi Talib, with a growing focus on finance transformation, automation and applied AI. KPMG and Kreston are distinct employers.
Internship · Dec 2022 – Sep 2023
Deloitte Asia Pacific — Audit Fastrack Intern
Supported multi-entity audits, consolidated reporting and deadline management across approximately 15 engagements.
Regulatory finance · Sep 2023 – Dec 2023
Monetary Authority of Singapore — Temporary Finance Assistant
Worked in controlled finance operations, including reconciliations, Vostro payment repair and international revenue reporting.
External audit · Jan 2024 – Nov 2024
KPMG — Audit Associate
Contributed to external audit execution, documentation quality, financial statement review and stakeholder coordination.
Engagement ownership · Nov 2024 – Jan 2026
Kreston Helmi Talib — Audit Associate I
Independently managed 15 audit engagements, prepared 15 sets of Financial Statements and completed two consolidation engagements.
Promotion · Jan 2026 – Present
Kreston Helmi Talib — Audit Associate II
Manage a 14-client portfolio, prepared 14 sets of Financial Statements within eight months, and lead four consolidation engagements with greater technical and client ownership.
Direction of travel · Ongoing
Finance transformation, automation and applied AI
Growing focus on clearer workflows, thoughtful automation and technology-enabled finance roles.
08
Education
Academic foundation
Formal training in accounting and finance.
Singapore Institute of Management
Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Accounting and Finance
2019 – 2023 · Singapore
09
Contact
Start a conversation with Abirami
For roles in financial reporting, finance transformation, controllership, internal audit, regional finance or technology-enabled finance.
Currently exploring
Exploring opportunities in financial reporting, regional finance, controllership, internal audit, finance transformation and technology-enabled finance.