Abstract
Contrary to the Anglo-American approach, France offers, in terms of accounting, an environment representative of those of many countries in continental Europe. Nonetheless, France offers a typical system, where, because politicians and executives are part of a close and tight elite network, the Head of State can intervene in the setting of international accounting rules. France also differs from other major countries in Continental Europe, such as Germany, due to the interest of its large business groups in foreign capital markets, shown as early as the late 1960s. This paper serves the purpose of describing and analysing the historical development of the French reporting standards, with a political and economic stance rather than a technical one. This paper studies the evolution from the established French framework to the adoption of European and IAS standards, from the post war period until nowadays. Firstly, the traditional French system is described, with the presentation of the business community, the legal and political framework and the conventional accounting rules. Secondly, the paper presents the reasons for the shift away from traditional French accounting standards which dates back as far as the early 1970s. This phenomenon is all the more interesting since no official international accounting standards existed at that time.
