When your firm's FRC register entry is wrong
What a Nigerian audit firm should do if the FRC's National Register of Audit Firms lists it wrongly or leaves it out, and how to handle clients meanwhile.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in Nigeria
A client's finance director sends a screenshot: your firm's name is spelt wrongly on the FRC's register, or it appears under the wrong professional type, or it is not there at all. The audit committee wants an explanation before the next meeting. Your partners are certain the firm registered.
Since April 2026, the register is not a directory a firm can afford to ignore. Being on it, correctly, is what allows the firm to accept and continue audit and assurance work in Nigeria. This article covers what to do when the entry is wrong or missing, how to prove the firm's position while a correction is pending, and how to stop the problem recurring.
The register and its weekly update
The FRC's National Register of Audit Firms page presents the register of audit firms in Nigeria. At the time it was checked, it was stated as at 14 September 2026, and the page says the register is updated weekly. The page lists each firm with its entity name, FRC number and professional type.
A weekly update has two consequences. A correction does not appear the moment it is requested; it waits for the next update. And any capture of the register the firm keeps as evidence is only good as of its date.
Reporting an error or omission
The FRC asks that any error, omission or misclassification in the National Register of Audit Firms be reported to its helpline on 07074603188 or by e-mail to natregister@frcnigeria.gov.ng. It says corrections are made in the following week's update.
Write rather than phone where possible, so the firm has a record. A good report gives:
- the firm's name exactly as registered, and its FRC number;
- what the register shows, with a dated screenshot;
- what it should show, and the evidence for it, such as the registration acknowledgement;
- a named contact at the firm for any follow-up.
Then diary the next weekly update and check whether the entry has changed.
When the firm is missing because it did not register or update
Not every omission is the FRC's error. The FRC said in a news item of 19 April 2026 that audit and assurance firms that failed to register or update their profiles on or before 31 March 2026 do not appear on the Register and are barred from practice until duly registered.
So before reporting an error, check the firm's own records: was the profile updated by that date, and was the update completed rather than started? If the firm missed the date, the remedy is registration through the FRC's portal, not a correction request, and the firm should assume it cannot take on or continue audit work until the entry appears. The registration steps and fees are in registering an audit firm with the FRC.
Why clients check, and keep checking
The FRC says that with effect from 1 April 2026 only audit firms and assurance firms listed on the National Audit and Assurance Firms Register are legally permitted to undertake, accept or continue any audit or assurance engagement in Nigeria. It also says that public interest entities, government institutions, regulated entities and private organisations must verify a firm's registration status before appointment and throughout the engagement, and ensure that both the firm and the signing audit professional appear on the register.
That second point is why a client may raise a wrong entry in the middle of an audit. The client has its own obligation to check, and a wrong entry gives its audit committee a reason to pause.
Re-verifying the entry with dated evidence in Achekam
Achekam does not look up the register: no register API was found, so its "check online" call always answers UNAVAILABLE. Staff record the firm's FRC register entry and each signing professional's registration, and a different person must verify each one against the official register with dated evidence.
That design suits a correction. Once the FRC's weekly update shows the corrected entry, capture it with the date, record it, and have a second person verify it. The old capture stays on file, so the history of the error and its correction is visible.
It also has a consequence the partners should know about. Achekam blocks signing of a Nigerian audit report until the firm's FRC register entry, the signer's FRC number and the signer's ICAN or ANAN good standing have been recorded and verified by someone other than the recorder. A firm whose entry is in doubt should not expect to sign until the entry is right and verified. How that block works is described in the FRC firms register and signing a Nigerian audit.
Telling clients while a correction is pending
Clients deserve a straight answer. A short letter to each affected client should cover:
- What the register currently shows, and what is wrong with it.
- The date the firm reported the error, and to which FRC contact.
- The evidence of the firm's registration, attached.
- The expected timing, given the weekly update.
- A promise to confirm when the corrected entry appears, with a dated capture.
| Situation | What the firm does | What it tells clients |
|---|---|---|
| Name or type wrong | Report to the FRC; recheck after the next update | Error reported, evidence attached |
| Firm missing, but registered in time | Report the omission with the acknowledgement | Omission reported, evidence attached |
| Firm missing, profile not updated in time | Register or update through the portal; pause audit work | Work paused until listed |
Preventing the next one
Check the firm's own entry on a fixed day each month, capture it with the date, and have it verified. Diary a profile review after any change in partners. A firm that finds its own errors first is in a much better position than one that hears about them from a client's audit committee.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
