Afra Muqtadir

Results-driven finance and accounting professional with a strong background in public accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, and advisory services across real estate, media, entertainment, consumer goods and professional services industries. Experienced in delivering audit, accounting advisory, and financial consulting services, ensuring compliance with IFRS, ASPE, and US GAAP while optimizing financial processes for improved efficiency and decision-making.  

I specialize in financial reporting, full-cycle accounting, and budgeting, helping organizations enhance financial close processes, revenue recognition, cost tracking, and variance analysis. My expertise in forecasting and sensitivity analysis enables businesses to structure budgets that align with funding sources, tax incentives, and strategic financial objectives.  

With a foundation in audit and accounting advisory, I have provided clients with internal control assessments, risk insights, and process improvements, ensuring financial integrity and operational efficiency. I have worked extensively with cross-functional teams, engagement leadership, external auditors, and regulatory bodies, managing financial compliance while driving process optimization and financial transformation.  

Additionally, I have advised on entertainment industry tax incentives, supporting clients in structuring financing models to maximize available tax credits while ensuring compliance with CAVCO, Creative BC, Ontario Creates, and CRA regulations.  

Committed to financial accuracy, strategic planning, and operational efficiency, I thrive in fast-paced, client-focused environments, leveraging data-driven insights to support executive decision-making.  

Core Competencies: 
✔ Public Accounting & Audit (IFRS, ASPE, US GAAP)  
✔ Financial Reporting & Full-Cycle Accounting  
✔ Budgeting, Forecasting & Sensitivity Analysis  
✔ Variance Analysis & Cost Optimization  
✔ Accounting Advisory & Internal Controls  
✔ Process Improvement & Financial Transformation  
✔ Tax Compliance & Incentive Structuring  
✔ Stakeholder Management & Regulatory Compliance  
✔ Data Analytics (Excel, Power BI, SQL)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Leading a $8M portfolio and managing a team of ~7 direct reports across Toronto and Vancouver, overseeing tax credit advisory for entertainment industry clients resulting in ~$47M in tax savings through optimized production budgeting and financing
• Developing production budgets that maximize tax credits, incorporating financing sources, license fees and tax incentives. Conducting sensitivity analyses to provide producers with multiple financial scenarios and cost-optimized strategies.
• Overseeing full-cycle accounting for production companies, including financing close, cost tracking, revenue recognition and tax credit calculations. Ensuring financial reporting in alignment with IFRS, ASPE and industry-specific requirements. 
• Managing relationships with key stakeholders, including producers, group management, government agencies like Creative BC, Ontario Creates, Canada Revenue Agency, facilitating compliance, resolving tax credit enquiries and supporting audits on production costs. 
• Led collaborating with 7-person Learning and Development team to standardize tax credit guidance and train ~31 consultants across Canada. 
• Pioneering an offshore outsourcing model with partners in Mumbai, India, reducing engagement costs by ~30% across the Entertainment practice in Canada.

Staff Augmentation Projects:

• Managed the monthly and quarterly financial closing processes, ensuring accurate and timely financial reporting. This included reconciling accounts, reviewing journal entries, and verifying the completeness of financial reports prepared in accordance with IFRS.
• Reviewed revenue reconciliations between the systems: MRI (property management system), Yardi and QuickBooks.
• Verified accurate elimination of intercompany transactions and coordinated across subsidiaries’ finance teams to ensure streamlined reporting, in case of discrepancies. W
• Conducted monthly variance analysis of budget vs. actual financial performance. In case of significant discrepancies, liaised with property managers to investigate and understand the underlying causes of the differences. 
• Streamlined timelines and data exchange between tax and audit teams for efficient meeting of deadlines. This involved coordinating with three different service providers across all the entities of the group. 
• Led a team of three direct reports, overseeing their responsibilities across Canadian and US portfolios and providing guidance, as and when needed.
• Streamlined the financial reporting process by prioritizing time-sensitive activities while managing concurrent tasks in tandem ensuring deadlines are met in a timely manner. 

Process optimization projects (Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A), Payroll, Procure-to-pay)

• Gained a comprehensive understanding of the current state of processes by conducting in-depth interviews with process owners. Identified areas of efficiency, constraints, and pain points, enabling targeted process improvements.
• Conducted visionary sessions with process stakeholders to define a shared vision for future state objectives and process improvement direction.
• Employed Microsoft Visio to visually represent and document the existing process workflow, providing a clear and comprehensive view of current process activities.
• Leveraged stakeholder input, visionary sessions, and process workflow mapping to identify gaps between current and future states, subsequently providing actionable recommendations for process enhancement.
• Utilized Klaxoon to conduct stakeholder workshops, fostering alignment on prioritization, timelines, and inclusive participation in change initiatives.

Other projects:

• Provided guidance on aligning the client's revenue recognition practices with US GAAP 606. This guidance pertained to revenue recognition by the client, acting as an agent leasing land parcels on behalf of a railway authority.
• Conducted an assessment to determine whether the client's treatment of debt restructuring met the criteria for significant restructuring as defined by IFRS 9.
• Contributed to a collaborative team that designed and developed a financial reporting tool, specifically tailored to streamline and enhance the financial reporting process for over 800 investment funds within a leading wealth management service provider. The tool is aimed at significantly improving efficiency and reducing the time required for preparing financial statements across the extensive portfolio of funds. 
• Led a financial modeling and forecasting initiative at a companywide level, incorporating sensitivity analysis to optimize capital allocation.

• Led engagements for clients with revenues ranging from USD 500 million to over USD 2 billion, specializing in real estate (developmental and rental), hospitality, retail, and service industries. Ensuring compliance with IFRS, US GAAP, and regulatory requirements.
• Provided strategic risk insights for audit planning and leadership decisions, while conducting internal control testing and recommending process improvements.
• Provided direction and input to complex audit initiatives, participating in comprehensive testing of internal control design and implementation, and providing valuable insights for process improvement recommendation. 
• Leveraged advanced Excel, Power BI, and SQL to analyze emerging trends, identify issues and opportunities, and presented data-driven recommendations to senior management.
• Delivered high-quality client service, including coordinating complex financial audits of both publicly listed and private companies and actively participating in audit committee meetings. 
• Provided timely and tailored communications to diverse project stakeholders, including clients, project leadership, and support teams, ensuring the effective delivery of the desired message at the appropriate level for each audience.
• Based on the resource costing analysis and project recovery and profitability ratios determined competitive client fees and monitored the ratios throughout the project to ensure successful project management.
• Managed and mentored 4-5 direct reports, ensuring quality adherence to firm methodology while contributing to their professional development.
• Led engagement for the IPO-readiness and public market listing of a large holding company with a diverse portfolio of assets in a key growth industry in the region, collaborated with capital markets and risk advisory teams, and coordinated the preparation of comfort letters and the prospectus with lawyers.