Getting an ICAN practice licence
What an ICAN member needs for a fresh practice licence: financial membership, practice attachment, MCPD hours, the fee, scrutiny and interview.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in Nigeria
A chartered accountant who has spent years in an audit firm and wants to sign reports in their own name needs more than membership of ICAN. They need a practice licence, and the Institute's conditions for a fresh one are specific: years of attachment in a registered firm, continuing professional development hours, a sponsor who meets the same test, a fee, a public scrutiny period and an interview.
None of these is difficult on its own. Together they take months, and some depend on other people. This guide sets out the conditions in the order an applicant meets them, so that a manager planning to go into practice, or a firm planning to admit a new signing partner, can start in good time.
Financial membership and the district
ICAN's Conditions and Procedures for Fresh Practice Licence Application, the document setting out the conditions, require the applicant to be a financial member of the Institute and of a District Society. The District Society must confirm that the applicant trained, or is training or working, in an ICAN-registered audit firm in the district.
"Financial member" means the applicant's dues are paid up. Check the position on the members' portal before anything else, because every later step assumes it.
Thirty-six months in a registered audit firm
The conditions require at least 36 months of full-time and continuous practice attachment in an ICAN-registered audit firm. The words "full-time" and "continuous" matter: a break, or a period of part-time work, may not count. An applicant who moved between firms should gather evidence from each, and confirm that each firm was registered with ICAN during the attachment.
For a firm, this is also a reason to keep its own ICAN registration current. A trainee whose attachment was spent at a firm that was not registered may find the time does not qualify.
Continuing professional development, and the sponsor's too
ICAN requires the applicant to have at least 120 MCPD credit hours in the last three years. The sponsor must also be a financial member holding a valid practice licence, with at least 120 MCPD credit hours in the last three consecutive years.
The sponsor condition is the one applicants overlook. A senior partner who has let their own MCPD record slip cannot sponsor, however willing. Ask the intended sponsor to confirm their position before naming them.
The fee, the scrutiny period and the interview
ICAN's conditions include payment of an application fee of 100,000. The document does not print a currency sign beside the figure. The conditions also say the applicant must first register the proposed firm's name on the Institute's portal; that step is described in registering an audit firm with ICAN.
Two further stages follow. During a Members' Scrutiny period of 14 days on the ICAN website, members may raise issues about the applicant, and the applicant must answer any raised satisfactorily. The applicant must then pass an interview, which may be oral, written or both.
Applying through the members' portal
The application is made on the members' portal. The portal sends a district clearance link to the District Chairman, and an attestation link to the Managing Partner, as sponsor, of the firm where the applicant's 36 months of practical training was received.
That means the application moves at the pace of two other people. Speak to the District Chairman's office and to the sponsor before submitting, so that both expect the links and act on them. ICAN gives a practice licence e-mail address in the same document for enquiries.
| Condition | Who confirms it | What to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Financial membership, Institute and District | ICAN and the District Society | Dues paid; district clearance |
| 36 months' attachment in a registered firm | The sponsoring firm's Managing Partner | Attachment dates and the firm's registration |
| 120 MCPD hours in three years | ICAN records | MCPD statement |
| Sponsor's licence and MCPD | The sponsor | The sponsor's own confirmation |
| Proposed firm name registered | ICAN portal | Name registration |
| Application fee | ICAN | Payment |
| Scrutiny and interview | Members and ICAN | Answers to any issues; interview preparation |
Recording the licence for signing checks in Achekam
Once the licence is granted, the firm's systems need to know. Achekam does not look up ICAN's or the FRC's records; its "check online" call always answers UNAVAILABLE. Staff record each signing professional's registration, and a different person must verify each one against the official register with dated evidence.
For a Nigerian firm, that verification decides whether the new partner can sign anything in Achekam. 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. A newly licensed partner therefore also needs an FRC registration, described in FRC registration for partners and audit staff, and a recorded grant of signing authority, before their first report.
Planning the timeline
Work backwards from the date the new partner should sign their first report:
- Confirm financial membership and district standing now.
- Gather evidence of the 36 months' attachment and check each firm's registration.
- Confirm the applicant's MCPD hours, and the sponsor's.
- Register the proposed firm name on the portal.
- Brief the District Chairman and the sponsor, then apply and pay.
- Allow for the scrutiny period and the interview.
- Register with the FRC, record both registrations in Achekam and have them verified.
An applicant who starts with the sponsor and the district, rather than the form, rarely finds the process slower than expected.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
