De la réforme 1996-1998 du dispositif français de normalisation comptable

The paper concerns relationships between the history of French accounting standardisation and contemporary French economic and social history. Four periods are singled out. The first, 1946-1957, sees the emergence of the French approach to accounting standardisation. The second, 1958-1973, is marked by the strengthening of this approach for state purposes of tax control and administration. The third 1974-1983, represents the apogee of the French approach, domestically and at a pan-European level. The fourth, 1984 to the present, sees international accounting standardisation as a source of tension and pressure for adaptation of the French approach. It is shown that each of these periods corresponds to a certain configuration of relationships between the state, accounting profession and enterprise sector. The present analysis provides the basis for interpreting the 1996-1998 reform to French institutional arrangements responsible for accounting standardisation.