In the quest of legitimacy of the auditing profession in France over 2000-2020 periods: a critical historical analysis

In this paper, we trace the movements of the French auditing profession over the 2000-2019 period which are explained in the light of legitimacy theory and literature on auditing and the production of legitimacy. We find that while the French auditing profession resisted and mobilized efforts over the last two decades to adapt to important mutations in the economic and regulatory environments for regaining its autonomy and recognition, it failed to re-invent or to re-construct its legitimation strategies and actions in order to gain social legitimacy. Through the PACTE law promulgated in May 2019, the French auditors face an identity crisis in upholding the public's trust to maintain social legitimacy and to ensure the survival of auditing status as a profession. Taking into account material and moral consequences of removal of statutory audit for small businesses, the failure of the profession to defend its social legitimacy and power may lead to process of audit deprofessionalization in France. The inability to found auditors' status as a profession rather than a trade or industry constrains the auditors to reconstruct their professional project and professionalization trajectory. This paper makes contribution to critical research in auditing and to literature on the sociology of the auditing profession.