Les acteurs de la normalisation comptable internationale : une communauté épistémique ?

The purpose of this paper is to study the group of actors involved in the setting of international accounting standards through an analysis of the individual as well as the collective features of this community. The previous literature combined to a detailed analysis of the constitution place the international institutions in the Anglo- Saxon tradition characterized by the dominating place granted to the experts. This leads to suggest the concept of epistemic community to describe the standard setting community. On the basis of an analysis of the membership of some of the bodies of the international institution, the relevance of this concept is discussed, highlighting the nature of the expertise, the existence of shared values and the adhesion to a one best way of making standards.