Playing and watching football and table tennis
Caleb Onwuchekwa
Audit Senior
Lagos
Summary
Finance and audit professional with proven experience in executing financial statement audits, risk-based internal audits, and regulatory compliance engagements across diverse sectors. Applies IFRS and ISA standards in financial statement audit engagements, and GIAS within risk-based internal audit assignments, in conjunction with the COSO Integrated Framework to evaluate the design, implementation, and operating effectiveness of internal controls, and the integrity of financial reporting and operational performance. Provides evidence-based recommendations to enhance the integrity of financial reporting, strengthen governance, risk management, and internal control frameworks, and support continuous process improvement.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
6
6
Certifications
Work History
Senior Audit Associate
KPMG Nigeria
Lagos
04.2023 - 04.2026
- Lead end-to-end audit engagements for financial services and related industries (banking, asset management, fund management, pensions, healthcare, trusteeship, securities) by executing audit planning, risk assessment, and fieldwork in compliance with IFRS and ISA, while delivering timely, high-quality audit reports and recommendations.
- Perform opening balances review per ISA 510, ensuring opening balances are free from material misstatement, agree with prior-year closing balances, and reflect consistent application of accounting policies. Communicate with predecessor auditors to understand significant prior audit issues and reasons for auditor changes; review predecessor audit reports to confirm alignment with concluded work.
- Supervise and mentor junior staff through on-the-job coaching and collaborative workflows, improving file quality and review readiness.
- Utilize audit tools including IDEA, Caseware, KDG, and KcW for efficient documentation and workflow management, and apply standardized workpapers to ensure compliance with global audit quality requirements.
- Coordinate with internal specialists and client stakeholders to resolve technical issues and drive audit progress.
- Lead technical discussions involving the engagement partner, engagement quality control reviewer, engagement manager, specialists, and specific team members to resolve critical audit bottlenecks and accelerate issue resolution without compromising audit quality.
- Review complex audit areas including Expected Credit Losses (ECLs), investment securities, hedge accounting, deferred tax, and derivatives.
- Assist multiple engagement teams in auditing gross loans and advances, complex intercompany loans, fees and commission, deferred tax, foreign currency revaluations, fair valuation of investment securities (FVTPL and FVTOCI), and contingent liability analysis, delivering technically precise work that strengthens audit quality and team efficiency.
- Recognized for team leadership and ability to manage multiple priorities under tight deadlines.
- Render post audit services by advising clients on technical treatments of transactions in line with IFRS and industry standards, enabling proactive issue prevention and reducing audit risk for future engagements.
- Performed 500+ bank reconciliations and 300+ bond reconciliations in a single engagement.
- Audited a top capital market institution's investment portfolio (commercial papers, treasury bills, bonds, money market funds, equities), identifying audit adjustments exceeding ₦10 billion.
- Supported a leading Nigerian commercial bank in early adoption of IFRS S1 and S2, utilizing transitional exemptions.
Semi-senior Advisory Associate
Grant Thornton Nigeria
Lagos
02.2020 - 04.2023
- Led risk based internal audits across hospitality, financial services, FMCG, energy and power, and general business sectors by developing audit plans and programs from risk assessments, testing key controls, and reporting findings with practical remediation recommendations. Performed follow up reviews of prior audit issues to ensure process owners implemented agreed corrective actions.
- Key team member on forensic engagements supporting the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in recovering shortfalls in the 1% Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) levy from upstream oil and gas companies.
- Key team member on a four-person forensic audit engagement that recovered ₦3 billion in excess bank charges and achieved a 20% reduction in the cost of credit liabilities for a commercial bank against a leading Tier 1 Nigerian commercial bank.
- Led a three-member team in reviewing internal controls over financial reporting in line with Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria guidelines across hospitality, financial services, automobile, FMCG, and general business sectors, delivering actionable recommendations to remediate control gaps and deficiencies.
- Led a four-member team in the corporate governance review of two NGX listed companies in the agricultural sector, assessing board effectiveness and oversight, committee performance, governance frameworks, and compliance with relevant governance codes.
- Led an engagement team of four that conducted eligibility due diligence for a leading Wholesale Development Finance Institution, assessing five borrowing financial institutions across capital adequacy, liquidity, profitability, pending litigations, going concern status, legal structure, and board and senior management composition.
- Managed payroll computation and related services for ten clients, handling registration with regulatory bodies, statutory remittances, salary payments, annual tax return filing, payroll tax audit support, and regulatory query resolution with authorities including SIRS, PENCOM, NHF, NSITF, ITF, and NHIS.
Presiding Officer
INEC Nigeria
Benue
03.2019 - 07.2019
- Managed opening procedures at polling station, verified equipment functionality and secured ballot materials.
- Managed polling station setup, verified voter lists, and activated ballot box chain-of-custody before opening.
- Executed biometric voter authentication using registration kits to prevent duplicate voting during polling.
- Monitored ballot issuance and recorded serial numbers to reconcile ballots at closing and counting.
- Prepared clear, legible result sheets and transmitted signed summaries to the constituency collation center at close.
Education
Associate Chartered Accountant -
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)
Lagos, Nigeria05-2026
Bachelor's Degree - Accountancy
University of Nigeria
Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria07-2017
National Diploma - Accountancy
Abia State Polytechnic
Aba, Abia, Nigeria06-2011
Skills
- Audit planning, risk assessment, completion and reporting
- Internal controls evaluation (design and operating effectiveness)
- Substantive testing and audit evidence gathering
- Audit documentation and reporting writing
- Standards (IFRS, ISA, GIAS, IPPF) interpretation and application
- Financial statement analysis and interpretation
- Test of details and substantive analytical procedures
- Attention to detail and professional skepticism
- Leadership, coaching and emotional intelligence
- Effective listening and communication
- Budgeting and variance analysis
- Professional due care and technical competence
Accomplishments
Best Graduating Student, National Diploma in Accounting (Class of 2011)
Certification
Integrated Sustainability Disclosures and Organisational Considerations - IFRS Foundation
Interests
Engaging in technical discussions
Solving mathematics
Conducting research
Timeline
Integrated Sustainability Disclosures and Organisational Considerations - IFRS Foundation
06-2025
Introduction to IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures - IFRS Foundation
06-2025
Introduction to IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information - IFRS Foundation
06-2025
Introduction to IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards - IFRS Foundation
06-2025
Accounting Fundamentals - Corporate Finance Institute
05-2023
Reading Financial Statements - Corporate Finance Institute
04-2023
Senior Audit Associate
KPMG Nigeria
04.2023 - 04.2026
Semi-senior Advisory Associate
Grant Thornton Nigeria
02.2020 - 04.2023
Presiding Officer
INEC Nigeria
03.2019 - 07.2019
National Diploma - Accountancy
Abia State Polytechnic
Associate Chartered Accountant -
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)
Bachelor's Degree - Accountancy
University of Nigeria
Links
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com
Hobbies and Interests
- Playing and watching football and table tennis
- Engaging in technical discussions
- Solving mathematical problems
- Conducting research