FRC registration for your CFO and directors

Which officers of a Nigerian company register with the FRC, in which category, what they upload and pay, and why their numbers belong on the accounts.

By Achekam · 11 October 2026 · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Nigeria

The annual report is nearly ready when the company secretary asks a question nobody has thought about: "What are the CEO's and CFO's FRC numbers?" The finance head is sure they registered years ago at a previous employer. One director has never heard of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. The printer is waiting.

FRC registration for individuals is not difficult, but it has to be done before the numbers are needed. This article explains which of a company's officers register, in which category, what each applicant uploads and pays, and where the numbers must appear.

Four categories for individuals

The FRC's guidelines for individual professionals describe four registration categories: CFO, Governance, Directors and Assurance. A company's officers usually need the first or third, sometimes both.

The CFO category

The FRC's CFO category is for the head of the finance function in a private or public sector organisation, whatever the title: Chief Financial Officer, Head of Finance, Financial Controller, Finance Director and so on. ICAN or ANAN are the qualifying professional bodies for this category. A finance head who is also a director may select both the CFO and Directors categories.

The title on the business card does not decide the matter. If one person runs the company's finance function and calls themselves "Finance Manager", they are the person this category is aimed at.

The Directors category

The FRC's Directors category is for directors in the private sector only. It requires a CAC status report showing the applicant as an active director of the organisation. A director who has not been properly recorded at CAC will need that fixed first, because the status report is the evidence the FRC asks for.

A sensible first step is to pull the company's CAC status report before anyone applies. Check that every director it lists is still serving and that every serving director appears on it. Correcting the CAC record first means each director's FRC application goes through on the first attempt, rather than stalling on a mismatch between the two registers.

What each applicant uploads

To register as an individual professional with the FRC, an applicant needs:

1. A passport photograph.
2. A valid means of identification bearing the 11-digit NIN. The FRC accepts the National Identity Card or slip, or an international passport.
3. A scanned signature.
4. One of: a professional certificate, a CAC status report, a letter of appointment, or the minutes of the meeting that appointed the applicant.

For a director, the CAC status report usually does double duty. For a CFO, the professional certificate and the letter of appointment together show both the qualification and the role. The FRC sets out these requirements, and the fee for each category, in its registration guidelines for individual professionals.

Fees for one or more categories

The FRC charges an individual professional a registration fee and an annual subscription that depend on how many categories the person registers in. According to its guidelines, at the time of writing:

A finance director who registers as both CFO and director therefore pays the two-category registration fee, and then the two-category subscription each year. Diarise the annual subscription: a registration that lapses is not much use when the numbers have to be printed. The guidelines date from 2024, so check the FRC's current figures before paying.

Why the numbers must be on the accounts

The reason a company cares about its officers' registration is FRC Rule 1. Under it, the persons holding the positions of CEO and CFO of an entity must indicate their FRC registration numbers on its annual report, financial statements and other documents of a financial nature. The rule adds that the certifying CFO must be a professional member of an accounting body established by an Act of the National Assembly in Nigeria.

The officers' numbers matter for the company's own FRC registration too. The FRC asks a company registering with it for the FRC individual registration numbers of its CEO, directors and CFO, as described in registering your company with the FRC. And the auditor's firm must carry its own FRC number; how to check it is covered in checking your auditor is FRC registered.

Keeping the officers' details in one place

Registration numbers have a habit of living in one person's e-mail. Keep a simple register instead: each officer's name, role, FRC category, registration number, date registered and the date the next subscription is due.

The annual report and audited financial statements are usually prepared by your accountant, separately from day-to-day management reporting. What Achekam carries is your company's own details: the logo, brand colour and company details set under Settings appear on payslips, tax certificates and documents composed for signature. Its management accounts show an income statement beside the period before and a balance sheet at period end, exportable as PDF or CSV, for internal use. Hand the FRC register to whoever prepares the statements, so the numbers are on the first draft rather than the last.

Before the next annual report

• Identify who heads finance, whatever their title, and confirm their CFO registration.
• Confirm each private-sector director's registration, and that CAC shows them as active.
• Register anyone missing, with the documents above.
• Check every officer's annual subscription is paid.
• Give the CEO's and CFO's numbers to the statement preparer.
• Update the register whenever an officer joins or leaves.

None of this takes long once. All of it is painful the week the report goes to print.

General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.