What a French Chartered Accountant Can Do in 2026: Beyond Bookkeeping

Updated 15 May 2026. Reviewed by Samuel Hayot, registered chartered accountant (expert-comptable inscrit a l'Ordre).

Most business owners engage a French chartered accountant (expert-comptable) for bookkeeping and the annual accounts, then wonder mid-year what else their firm can handle. The question is legitimate: the profession's scope is broad, governed by the Ordonnance n° 45-2138 of 19 September 1945, and the missions on offer extend well beyond journal entries.

This article maps the full range of missions that can be entrusted to a French chartered accountant in 2026, from statutory bookkeeping to the outsourced CFO function, including contractual audit, tax advisory, payroll, and wealth structuring. It also explains how these missions connect with lawyers, notaries, and wealth managers (CGP).

The Ordonnance n° 45-2138 of 19 September 1945 is the founding text of the profession. It establishes:

• The statutory monopoly (Article 2): the keeping, supervision, and review of accounting records, the preparation of annual accounts, and attestation of those accounts in the capacity of expert-comptable are reserved to registered members of the Ordre des experts-comptables.
• Extended missions: beyond the strict monopoly, chartered accountants may perform any ancillary mission that supports their core accounting activity: tax, payroll, corporate secretarial, advisory, and organisational services.
• Professional secrecy (referring to Article 226-13 of the Penal Code): all information obtained in the exercise of their missions is covered by professional secrecy.

The Code of Professional Ethics (Decret n° 2012-432 of 30 March 2012) imposes independence, competence, loyalty to the client, and professional solidarity. It also defines incompatibilities — most notably, the prohibition from holding a statutory audit mandate (commissariat aux comptes) on the same entity as an accounting mission.

Our reading: the legal scope of the expert-comptable's mission is very broad. In practice, the question is not "is this permitted?" but "does the firm have the internal expertise to deliver it without compromising quality?" A generalist firm and a specialist firm do not offer the same effective scope.

The professional standards (Normes d'Exercice Professionnel, NEP) published by the Conseil superieur de l'Ordre distinguish several assurance levels on financial statements:

2a. Bookkeeping#

The core mission: recording transactions, posting to ledgers, reconciling accounts, and preparing the annual accounts (balance sheet, income statement, notes). The accountant reviews entries for consistency before year-end closing.

In practice, bookkeeping may be fully outsourced or partially delegated. Cloud accounting tools such as Pennylane and Cegid have shifted part of the data-entry responsibility to clients.

2b. Presentation Review (NEP 911)#

A presentation review produces a signed report stating that the annual accounts are consistent with the information provided and contain no obvious inconsistencies. This is not a certification, but it is recognised by banks and some business partners as a quality signal.

The underestimated risk: many business owners believe that the accountant's signature on the accounts is equivalent to certification. It is not, unless a formal presentation or audit engagement letter is in place.

2c. Limited Review (NEP 912)#

A limited review goes further than a presentation. It includes structured information requests, analytical procedures (ratio analysis, year-on-year comparisons), and identification of significant anomalies. This level of assurance is often required by banks for credit facilities above approximately 500,000 EUR, or by investors in intermediate transactions.

2d. Contractual Audit (NEP 100-700)#

A contractual audit provides a reasonable assurance level comparable to statutory audit, without having a legal character. It involves sampling, third-party confirmations, substantive testing, and risk assessment. It is more costly but often unavoidable in disposals, significant fundraisings, or acquisitions.

3a. Preparing Tax Returns#

The chartered accountant prepares the full range of periodic tax filings:

• VAT: monthly CA3, quarterly CA3, annual CA12 simplified return; EMEBI and DES declarations
• Corporate tax return (IS): Form 2065 and annexes (2050 to 2059-H)
• Personal income tax returns: Form 2031 (BIC), Form 2035 (BNC), Form 2042 C PRO
• Business property tax (CFE): Form 1447-C (creation), Form 1447-M (annual changes)
• DAS-2: declaration of fees, commissions, and payments to third parties

3b. Tax Ruling and Audit Assistance#

The chartered accountant can prepare and submit a formal tax ruling request (rescrit fiscal, Article L80 B LPF) to secure certainty on an uncertain tax position. A positive ruling binds the tax authority. During a tax audit, the accountant assists at every administrative stage. For judicial proceedings, collaboration with a tax lawyer is recommended.

3c. Fiscal Compliance Review (ECF)#

The ECF (Examen de Conformite Fiscale) is a voluntary contractual procedure governed by Decree n° 2021-25 of 13 January 2021. The chartered accountant verifies approximately twenty pre-defined tax compliance points and issues an attestation. In exchange, the tax authority commits not to reassess those specific points in a subsequent audit. See our dedicated article on the ECF and tax audit risk.

4a. Payroll Management#

The chartered accountant prepares monthly payslips, calculates employer and employee social contributions, and transmits the DSN (Declaration Sociale Nominative) to social protection bodies by the 5th or 15th of each month. A late or incorrect DSN generates penalties and errors in employees' entitlements.

4b. Hire and Termination Formalities#

The accountant files the DPAE (pre-hire declaration), drafts standard employment contracts (CDI, CDD, part-time), and prepares end-of-contract documents (final pay statement, work certificate, France Travail attestation). For complex contracts or dismissals, an employment lawyer should be involved.

4c. Collective Agreement Advice#

The accountant advises on the applicable collective agreement, job classifications, salary minimums, and profit-sharing schemes (interessement, participation). It structures, within legal limits, tax-exempt remuneration elements such as meal vouchers, group health insurance, and employee savings plans.

5a. Salary vs Dividend Arbitrage#

One of the highest-impact advisory missions for a SASU or SARL director is the arbitrage between net salary and dividends. The accountant models both scenarios considering the director's marginal income tax rate, social security status, contributions due, the flat tax (PFU at 30%), and the impact on future pension rights. There is no universal rule.

5b. Choice of Legal Structure#

Before or at incorporation, the accountant analyses the choice between SASU, SARL, SAS, individual enterprise (EI — unified regime since 2022), civil partnership, or collective structures. This analysis integrates the tax regime, the director's social security regime, personal asset protection, and development or exit prospects.

5c. Business Sale and Transfer#

The accountant contributes to business valuation, structuring the transaction (share sale vs asset sale), computing the capital gain and applicable exemption regimes (Article 150-0 D ter CGI for retiring directors, Pacte Dutreil for family transfers), and supporting financial negotiations with the buyer.

5d. SCI Tax Regime Arbitrage (IR vs IS)#

For clients who hold real estate through a civil property company (SCI), the accountant analyses the arbitrage between income-transparent SCI (IR) and corporation-taxed SCI (IS). The right choice depends on the holding period, liquidity needs, and the partners' personal tax profiles.

6a. Annual Legal Secretarial#

The accountant handles the annual general meeting (AGO), minutes for account approval, simplified management report, and allocation of profit. These acts are compulsory in all companies; omissions expose directors to sanctions.

6b. Capital Operations#

The accountant prepares draft resolutions for capital increases, capital reductions, and changes of legal form. Complex restructurings require a statutory valuer appointed by a court, in coordination with a lawyer.

6c. Intra-Group and Regulated Agreements#

The accountant identifies agreements falling under Articles L227-10 (SAS) or L225-38 (SA) of the Commercial Code, ensures prior board authorisation and AGM approval, and drafts the required special report. Failure to follow this procedure exposes the agreements to potential nullity.

7a. Business Creation#

The accountant supports incorporation from scratch: structure selection, filing with the INPI single-window portal (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr since 2023), opening a business bank account, initial accounting and payroll setup, and first-year financial projections.

7b. Dissolution and Liquidation#

When a business closes, the accountant prepares the closing accounts, calculates the final tax and social obligations, and supports the dissolution and liquidation formalities at the registry.

7c. Acquisition Due Diligence#

The accountant conducts a financial due diligence covering quality of historical accounts, EBITDA normalisation, tax and payroll risk assessment, off-balance-sheet commitments, and areas relevant to price negotiation or the asset and liability guarantee (garantie d'actif et de passif).

7d. Financial Projections and Business Plans#

The accountant prepares financial forecasts (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash-flow over three years) for bank applications, fundraising rounds, or tender submissions. A business plan attested by a chartered accountant carries significantly more credibility with banks and investors.

7e. Outsourced CFO (DAF externalise)#

The outsourced CFO mission entrusts the accountant with part-time financial management — typically two to five days per month: monthly or quarterly closing and reporting, presentation to shareholders or the board, financing plan, bank relationship, and supporting growth transactions. At Hayot Expertise, this mission is primarily activated for post-Series A startups and fast-growing SMEs. Details available on our strategic advisory and outsourced CFO page.

8a. ERP Migration and Configuration#

The accountant supports migration to cloud accounting tools (Pennylane, Cegid, Sage 100 Cloud, QuickBooks): configuring the chart of accounts, training teams, and setting up data import flows. A poorly managed migration creates duplicate entries, FEC anomalies, and difficulties during tax audits.

8b. FEC, DSN, and E-invoicing Integration#

The FEC (Fichier des Ecritures Comptables) is the legal format required during a tax audit (Article L47 A LPF). The accountant verifies that the client's software generates a compliant, anomaly-free FEC. It also prepares clients for the mandatory e-invoicing obligation — the deployment calendar should be monitored closely given regulatory postponements (exact 2026-2027 dates to be verified).

8c. Dashboard and Management Reporting#

The accountant builds customised dashboards — via Power BI, Google Looker Studio, or native ERP tools — enabling the director to track revenue, margin, net cash position, and DSO in real time.

The chartered accountant works alongside other professionals to cover the client's full advisory needs:

Our reading: a good chartered accountant's value lies not only in technical execution but in the ability to direct the client to the right adviser at the right moment, and to coordinate between advisers to avoid contradictions or blind spots.

Case 1 — Paris-based SME, 1 M€ revenue, services sector#

An eight-person consultancy delegates a full mission to Hayot Expertise: bookkeeping (monthly review in Pennylane), payroll for eight employees, monthly VAT return, corporate tax return, annual legal secretarial, and an ECF. All missions are formalised in a detailed engagement letter. A half-day year-end review covers financial results, the director's salary-versus-dividend arbitrage, and forward-looking projections.

Case 2 — Startup, Series A fundraising of 3 M€#

A SaaS startup prepares its first significant fundraising. Hayot Expertise intervenes in three phases: a contractual audit of historical accounts (NEP 100-700) for the investor data room; an outsourced CFO mission post-fundraising; and support for deploying a scalable ERP. The CFO mission includes quarterly board presentations and managing the banking relationship.

Case 3 — Entrepreneur planning a business exit#

A 58-year-old director wants to sell his industrial SME (4 M€ revenue) within 18 months. Hayot Expertise conducts: a vendor due diligence, EBITDA normalisation over three years, calculation of the applicable capital gain tax regime (including the exemption for retiring directors under Article 150-0 D ter CGI), and coordination with the notaire for post-sale wealth structuring.

All information communicated to the chartered accountant is covered by professional secrecy (Article 226-13 of the Penal Code). This applies to all members of the firm without exception. Professional secrecy is lifted only in situations provided for by law: mandatory anti-money laundering reporting (LCB-FT), formal judicial orders, or waiver by the client.

• E-invoicing: the mandatory e-invoicing rollout (Ordonnance of 15 September 2021, as amended) must be monitored closely — original deadlines have been postponed. Your accountant should prepare the transition to a partner dematerialisation platform (PDP) or the Chorus Pro portal.
• AI and automation: automatic transaction categorisation tools reduce manual entry but create new risk of mis-posting if their rules are not reviewed. The accountant must systematically check automated proposals before year-end closing.
• ECF: since 2021, the ECF has been an under-used fiscal security tool for SMEs. In 2026, it remains one of the most effective levers for reducing reassessment risk on common tax points.
• FEC and remote audits: remote accounting verification (VADF) is growing. A poorly structured FEC is detected within hours by the tax authority's software. Ensuring compliant FEC generation is no longer optional.

Hayot Expertise is a chartered accountancy firm based in Paris. We offer the full range of missions described in this article, scaled to the size and development stage of each client — from a newly incorporated sole trader to an SME preparing for disposal, or a startup supported by an outsourced CFO.

Every mission is formalised in a detailed engagement letter specifying deliverables, timelines, responsibilities, and fees. Where needed, we coordinate partner lawyers (corporate law, employment law, tax litigation) and notaires.

This article is provided for information only. It does not replace a personalised analysis of your situation by a qualified chartered accountant, which alone can account for the specific circumstances of your company, location, activities, and applicable law at the date of your decision.

Sources: Ordonnance n° 45-2138 of 19 September 1945 (Legifrance) — NEP 911, NEP 912, NEP 100-700 (Conseil superieur de l'Ordre) — Commercial Code Art. L227-10 (Legifrance) — LPF Art. L80 B (Legifrance) — Penal Code Art. 226-13 (Legifrance) — experts-comptables.fr — Decree n° 2021-25 of 13 January 2021 (ECF).