FRC registration for partners and audit staff
How a Nigerian firm's partners and professionals register with the FRC as individuals, what they upload, the fees by category and the ICAN or ANAN link.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in Nigeria
A Nigerian audit firm's FRC registration rests on its people. The firm cannot complete its own application without its partners' individual FRC numbers, and a partner without one cannot sign where the FRC expects a registered professional. Yet individual registration is often left to each partner to sort out, with the result that nobody in the firm knows who is registered, in which category, or when the subscription is due.
This guide treats individual registration as a firm-wide task: the categories, the uploads, the fees, the link to ICAN or ANAN, and how the firm keeps a verified record of each person's number.
The categories, and which one auditors need
The FRC's registration guidelines for individual professionals name four categories: Directors, CFO, Governance and Assurance. A practising auditor registers under Assurance. A finance head in industry registers as CFO; audit committee members can register under Governance by uploading the minutes of the meeting where they were appointed or a letter of introduction from the entity.
A person may register in more than one category, and the fees scale accordingly, as shown below. The categories describe the role the person plays, so a partner who also serves on another organisation's audit committee should consider whether the Governance category is needed as well. The FRC's registration guidelines for individuals list the categories and their requirements in full.
What each applicant uploads
The guidelines say an individual applicant needs:
- a passport photograph;
- a valid means of identification bearing the 11-digit NIN, which the guidelines say may be a National Identity Card or slip, or an international passport;
- a scanned signature;
- one of a professional certificate, a CAC status report, a letter of appointment or the minutes of the meeting that appointed the applicant.
For an auditor, the professional certificate is the natural choice. Collect these from every partner and manager in one round, in the right format, before anyone opens the portal. The NIN requirement is the one that delays applications, usually because the identification document on hand does not show it.
Fees and subscriptions
The guidelines set a registration fee and an annual subscription for each individual, by the number of categories chosen:
| Categories | Registration fee | Annual subscription |
|---|---|---|
| One (CFO, Governance, Directors or Assurance) | ₦50,000 | ₦50,000 |
| Two | ₦100,000 | ₦100,000 |
| Three | ₦150,000 | ₦150,000 |
| All four | ₦200,000 | ₦200,000 |
These are the amounts in the guidelines uploaded in July 2024, as published at the time of writing.
A worked example in words. A partner registers under Assurance only, and pays the one-category fee and, each year after, the one-category subscription. A colleague who registers under Assurance and also under Governance, because she serves on an audit committee outside the firm, pays the two-category amounts. Budget for the subscriptions as a recurring cost of each person's role, not as a one-off. Whether the firm or the individual pays is a policy question each firm should settle in writing; what matters is that the subscription is paid every year, because a lapsed registration is a gap the firm will discover at the worst moment.
The ICAN or ANAN practising certificate
FRC registration does not stand alone. IFAC's profile of Nigeria says the FRC Act requires professional accountants to be registered with the FRC to prepare financial statements and conduct statutory audits of public interest entities, and that a practising certificate from ICAN or ANAN is required as part of registration for individuals in public practice.
So the order for a new partner is: membership and a practising certificate from ICAN or ANAN first, then FRC registration in the Assurance category. A partner whose practising certificate has lapsed has a problem on both fronts.
The guidelines also say professionals whose bodies are not listed may apply in writing to the FRC's registration e-mail address with their certificate and the body's enabling law. That route is slower, and worth starting early for any team member it applies to.
Recording each signer's FRC number in Achekam
Achekam does not register anyone and does not look up the FRC's records online; its "check online" call always answers UNAVAILABLE. Instead, staff record each signing professional's registration, alongside the firm's FRC register entry, and a different person must verify each one against the official register with dated evidence.
For a Nigerian firm, the record has teeth. Achekam blocks approving or issuing an audit report, and the partner's signature on financial statements, until a second person has verified the firm's FRC register entry and the signing partner's FRC number, ICAN or ANAN standing and signing authority. The block cannot be overridden, and it applies even while the firm's set-up is still a draft. In practice, then, a partner without a verified FRC number in Achekam cannot sign a Nigerian report in it, which is a useful prompt to keep registrations current. The block itself is described in the FRC firms register and signing a Nigerian audit.
Keeping registrations current
A short annual routine keeps the firm out of trouble:
- Keep one list of every partner and manager with their FRC number, category and subscription date.
- Pay subscriptions before they fall due, and keep the receipts.
- Check each person's ICAN or ANAN practising certificate is current.
- Re-verify each signer's entry against the official record, with a dated capture, and record the verification in Achekam.
- Register new partners before they sign anything, and before the firm updates its own profile.
The firm's own registration depends on these numbers, so this list is also the first step in registering an audit firm with the FRC. Keeping it current is a small job done regularly, or a large one done in a hurry.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
