Checking your Nigerian auditor is on the FRC register
What a Nigerian company must check about its audit firm and signing partner under the FRC register rules, before appointing them and while they serve.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Nigeria
For years, a Nigerian company chose its auditor on reputation, price and professional membership, and took the firm's standing largely on trust. Since 1 April 2026 there is a register to check, and the consequences of not checking fall on the company as well as the firm: an audit or assurance engagement carried out by a firm that is not on the register is invalid.
That turns auditor selection from a commercial decision into a compliance step. The good news is that the step is simple, as long as it is done at the right moments and written down. This article explains the register, the two checks it requires, the professional bodies behind the signing partner, and how the appointment and the firm's own controls work in Achekam.
The register since 1 April 2026
From 1 April 2026, an audit or assurance firm in Nigeria must be on the Financial Reporting Council's National Audit and Assurance Firms Register. The register is wider than statutory audit: it also covers actuarial, valuation and other assurance firms. If your company commissions a valuation or an actuarial report for its financial statements, the same question applies to that firm.
The FRC publishes the national register of audit firms, updated weekly, with a contact for reporting errors. That page is where your check starts.
Why "invalid" matters to the company
An engagement by an unlisted firm is invalid. Think about what rests on your audited statements: the annual tax return, a bank facility, a tender, a regulator's filing. If the audit behind them is invalid, each of those can be called into question, and putting it right may mean a fresh audit by a registered firm.
The FRC is the body that sets accounting and auditing standards in Nigeria, under the FRC Act 2011 as amended in 2023. Its register is not a professional courtesy; it is how the regulator controls who may practise.
Two checks: the firm and the person who signs
The rule asks entities to verify two things, before the appointment and throughout it:
- the firm, against the register;
- the signing professional, the partner who will put their name to your report.
"Throughout" is the word that is easy to miss. A firm on the register when you appointed it may come off it; a signing partner may change between years. A check made once, at the first appointment, does not cover the audit three years later.
In practice, ask the firm in writing, before the engagement letter is signed, for the name under which it appears on the register and the name and FRC number of the partner who will sign. Then search the register yourself under that name. A firm that trades under one name and is registered under another is a question worth asking now rather than after the report arrives. Put the same request in each year's engagement letter, so that the check happens as part of the audit rather than relying on someone's memory.
ICAN and ANAN
The signing professional's standing ties back to Nigeria's statutory accounting bodies. ICAN, established by the ICAN Act 1965, and ANAN, established by the ANAN Act 1993, are the two statutory bodies, and both apply the International Standards on Auditing without modification. Ask the firm which body the signing partner belongs to and for evidence that the partner is in good standing with it.
Appointing the firm in Achekam
If your company keeps its books in Achekam, you appoint the audit firm from your own workspace, by the firm's Achekam address or firm code. Choose the role of auditor (the other roles are accountant, tax practitioner, payroll provider and adviser) and an access level. The firm accepts or declines. Appoint the firm only after your register check, and record that check alongside the board's decision.
What the firm records before it signs
The firm has its own control inside Achekam, and it is a strict one. Achekam blocks the signing of a Nigerian audit report until three things have been recorded and then verified by a person other than the one who recorded them:
- the firm's FRC register entry;
- the signer's FRC number;
- the signer's ICAN or ANAN good standing.
The firm must also record that the signer has audit signing authority. Achekam does not look up the FRC register itself. A person at the firm checks it by hand and attaches dated evidence, because no register API was found. How the block works on the firm's side is covered in the FRC register check before signing.
That control protects the firm. Your own check protects the company, and the two should agree. If you are ever unsure, ask the firm for the dated evidence it attached; a firm that has done the work will have it to hand.
A verification log for the board
Keep a simple log with the board papers:
| Moment | What to check | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Before appointment | Firm on the FRC register | Dated printout of the register entry |
| Before appointment | Signing partner identified, with FRC number | The firm's confirmation |
| Before appointment | Signing partner in good standing with ICAN or ANAN | The firm's confirmation or the body's evidence |
| Each year, before fieldwork | Firm still on the register | Fresh dated printout |
| Whenever the signing partner changes | New partner's FRC number and standing | The firm's confirmation |
| Before the report is signed | Nothing has changed since the last check | Note in the minutes |
The audited statements feed the company's annual tax return, which every Nigerian company must file whatever its size; see why a small Nigerian company still files a tax return. A short check of the register before each audit protects every document that relies on it.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
