THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ANGLO-AMERICAN AUDIT FIRMS IN FRANCE

The objective of this paper is to trace the development of the French auditing profession, the commissaires aux comptes, focusing on the appearance of the large Anglo-American audit firms on the French market. The French audit market has always shown a number of peculiarities, among which the continued importance of a number of local audit firms. The French audit profession finds its roots in late nineteenth century company law that introduced an obligation for companies to release audited financial statements. The profession of commissaire aux comptes became regulated in its modern form in the 1960s. The paper tries to explain the growing impact of the international audit firms on the French profession, using a framework that relates to internationalisation strategies in service industries. It also demonstrates how local professionals and the French state reacted to these developments.