Maria is the Deputy Chief Auditor at Grant Thornton LLP with over 25 years of experience in accounting and auditing. She acts as a steward to the accounting and auditing profession at large by supporting young developing professionals, promoting quality work and ethical behavior, and establishing and reinforcing sound professional standards. Maria is primarily focused on audit methodology by supporting the establishment of policies and procedures to comply with auditing and attestation standards, including the development and review of various intellectual and technological resources. She interfaces with others on the implementation of new standards and the implications to methodology, and consults on various technical assurance-related matters across service lines. Maria is also a key player in the development and launch of the firm's global audit methodology. Maria has served on many task forces and committees and has contributed to various professional assurance-related standards, audit guides, presentations, and other publications, internationally and within the United States. Maria served as a member of the Auditing Standards Board (ASB), Audit Issues Task Force (AITF), and chair of the ASB's Risk Assessment Task Force and the ASB's Compliance Audits Task Force. Maria joined Grant Thornton after spending a short period in private industry within investor accounting. Before that, Maria spent numerous years with Arthur Andersen LLP as a firmwide staff accountant, an auditor in financial services, and a national professional standards manager.