Maria Nicolaou
Maria Nicolaou is a seasoned audit and assurance professional with more than 20 years of professional and extensive experience in advisory and leadership roles. Maria’s career started back in 1997, and she commenced employment with KPMG in Cyprus, back in 2000 and served as a Director in KPMG until 2017. As an Assurance Director, she was heading the Audit and Assurance and Global Financial Outsourcing Departments and ensuring ISQC1 compliance. Maria manages financial reporting, budgeting, project engagements, and client satisfaction, and she works on European projects with the UN and European Commission. She oversaw financial reporting, project management, and business development, and audited public companies across various sectors. Maria has wide experience in designing and conducting internal trainings pertaining to professional topics such as IFRS, ISAs, Audit methodology, ISQC1, CaseWare working papers and other related subjects having strong technical skills in IFRS, auditing standards, and regulatory frameworks. She is a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), a Fellow Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (FAAT), a Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) and a Member of the Auditing Standards Committee of ICPAC.
Maria is an audit and advisory professional with more than 30 years of experience in leadership, assurance, and consulting roles.
She began her career in 1997 and joined KPMG Cyprus in 2000, where she served as Director until 2017.
Today, she is Director and Head of Audit & Assurance at SPL Audit (Cyprus) Ltd, leading the firm’s Audit & Assurance Department. She also serves as Director of Professional Standards & Quality Assurance and Learning & Development Director.
Throughout her career, Maria has led financial reporting, audit, advisory, budgeting, project management, and business development engagements, including European projects in collaboration with the United Nations and the European Commission. She has extensive experience in the audit and advisory of private and public entities across sectors including fintech, technology, banking and EMIs, investment funds, shipping, retail, and e-commerce.
Maria specialises in IFRS advisory services and is a Certified Trainer with extensive experience in designing and delivering professional training programmes on IFRSs, ISAs, audit methodology, and related professional and regulatory topics.
She holds an Associate Degree in Accounting and is a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), a Fellow Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (FAAT), a Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC), and a Member of ICPAC’s Audit and Assurance Committee.
