Le recours croissant aux évaluateurs externes dans le cadre des normes IFRS : Conséquences pour l’auditeur

The wave of mergers and acquisitions witnessed since the late 1990’s combined with the coming into force of IFRS for French public companies have led to the emergence of a new actor: the external appraiser specialized in the purchase price allocation. In France, these external appraisers belong mainly to the accountancy profession. This situation raises two related questions: the one is about the acceptance of this new actor by auditors, the other one is about the implications of the presence of this new actor during the relational process of audit. A qualitative analysis, based on eleven interviews with auditors, with financial directors and with external appraisers, was conducted. The analysis shows that the acceptance of this new actor did not raise difficulties since he constitutes an economic opportunity for auditing firms and brings some comfort to auditors. It also seems that the audit relation becomes tripartite. The role of the external appraiser is to constitute a first control of the valuation made by the company. This situation facilitates the mission of the auditor by protecting his relation with the company’s management.