Requirements for the director and chief accountant of a financial institution

The director and chief accountant in a company is a mandatory requirement for most types of financial companies when obtaining a license and the status of a financial institution.

The main difficulty lies in the fact that there are clear requirements for both the director and the accountant, compliance with which is checked by the NBU when reviewing the documents of the company.

Our company has been helping to get Financial Licenses of various types since 2009. We have helped dozens of financial institutions pass the examination, including after the change of the licensing authority to the NBU in 2020.

Today, for your convenience we have collected all the requirements for the director and accountant of a financial institution, so that you can prepare in advance for the procedure of obtaining a license - at the time of filing documents you must already have candidates for these two positions.

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Separate requirements for the director and chief accountant of a financial company

There are special professional requirements established by law for the director of a financial institution.

Thus, the director of a financial company must have:

• an appropriate higher education;
• at least 5 years of work experience, of which at least 2 years in managerial positions, including at least 1 year of experience in the financial services market;
• an ideal business reputation.

In turn, the accountant of the financial company will be approved by the NBU if he/she:

• has a basic higher education or complete higher education in preparing the corresponding activity;
• has worked in a managerial position for at least 3 years (work related to finance and accounting) or in other positions, if they are related to activities in the areas of finance or accounting in the financial services market.

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General requirements for the director and chief accountant of a financial company

In addition to professional, there are also general reputational and qualification requirements that are the same for both positions. 

1. A candidate for any of these positions must not have held a relevant position in a financial institution within the past 10 years that has been:

• declared bankrupt;
• involuntarily liquidated.

This requirement also includes the absence of an incident in the candidate’s work history of removal from management activities and further appointment of interim administration.

2. The candidate may not have an unexpunged or unspent criminal record for:

• intentional crimes;
• crimes in the sphere of economic or official activity.

The candidate must not be prohibited from holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities under Article 55 of the Criminal Code.

3. The candidate must pass qualification upgrading courses and pass an exam.

The compliance of the director and accountant with the above requirements must be confirmed by appropriate documents. The following package of documents is required as standard:

• diploma of higher education; 
• employment record book;
• certificates from relevant financial institutions;
• a certificate obtained by passing an exam. 

Note: The NBU may require additional documents. Our lawyers will make a possible list for you in advance and help you to prepare them.

4. A person who has been a director, chief accountant, or owner of a substantial interest in a financial institution for at least six months may not be approved if such financial institution during that period or within one year thereafter has been declared bankrupt and/or has been subjected to involuntary liquidation proceedings.

Recruitment of suitable candidates for a director and accountant is only a small part of the preparatory stage. In order to obtain a license and status, your company must meet requirements in terms of logistics, authorized share capital formation, financial monitoring, and many others. Learn more here.

We offer you full support for setting up a financial company, which will include:

• Legal consultation on the process, timing, and cost of the desired type of financial institution;
• Registration of a legal entity of the required organizational and legal structure;
• Development of the constituent documents of the financial company;
• Monitoring the formation of the authorized share capital in the required amount;
• Obtaining a Financial License (check the availability of documents with reference to the check-list);
• Inclusion of the company into the register of financial institutions (check the availability of documents with reference to the check-list).

Check out the cost of registering a financial company here. Or contact our specialists for a personalized package of services.

If you want to be sure that registration of a financial company will pass simply and without unnecessary loss of time and money - contact us. 

We offer you a 100% result and simple solutions.

Didn’t find an answer to your question?

Everything about the Financial Company Registration Procedure here.

Everything about obtaining a Financial License here.