CSE accounting in 2026: Pennylane digitalisation and ANC 2015-01 compliance

Updated 12 May 2026 — Accounting for a French CSE (Social and Economic Committee) follows a specific framework set out in ANC règlement no. 2015-01, distinct from the standard Plan Comptable Général used by companies. Non-accountant treasurers often feel overwhelmed by technical obligations: three regimes depending on the CSE's resources, strict separation of two budgets, a dedicated chart of accounts, and annual financial statements that must be presented to employees. This practical guide details the legal framework and provides an 8-step Pennylane tutorial to digitalise CSE bookkeeping for the 2026 financial year.

<div class="featured-snippet"> French CSE accounting is governed by <strong>ANC règlement no. 2015-01</strong>, with three regimes based on resources: ultra-simplified (&lt; 153,000 EUR), simplified (153,000 EUR to 3.1 M EUR), and full (&gt; 3.1 M EUR, with a mandatory statutory auditor). The treasurer must strictly separate the <strong>operating budget (AEP)</strong> from the <strong>social and cultural activities budget (ASC)</strong>, with transfers capped at 10% of any AEP surplus. Digitalising the workflow on Pennylane simplifies bank feeds, OCR of supporting documents and production of ANC-compliant annual accounts.

In short, every CSE — regardless of size — must keep accounting records, separate the two budgets at bank account level, and present annual accounts to employees within six months of the year-end. Failure to comply exposes both the treasurer (personal civil and criminal liability) and the committee (employee litigation, URSSAF reassessments) to significant risk.

</div>

ANC règlement no. 2015-01, issued by the ANC (French Accounting Standards Authority), has governed the bookkeeping of every works council and CSE since 1 January 2016. The regulation defines three accounting regimes based on the CSE's annual resources, sets out the dedicated 5-digit chart of accounts (different from the standard PCG), enforces strict separation of the two budgets (AEP operating budget vs ASC social and cultural activities budget), and specifies the procedures for approving and publishing the annual accounts. The treasurer's personal civil liability is engaged in case of gross error, and their criminal liability is engaged in case of fraud or filing of false accounts. Rigorous bookkeeping — ideally digital — is therefore essential to protect the mandate.

The applicable regime depends on the CSE's annual resources, calculated as the sum of the operating subsidy (AEP), the employer contribution to social and cultural activities (ASC), financial income, and any external grants or donations.

Ultra-simplified regime (< 153,000 EUR of resources)#

For small CSEs (typically companies of 50 to 200 employees with a moderate payroll), a cash book (recettes/dépenses) and an annual statement of net assets are sufficient. A rigorous Excel spreadsheet is acceptable, although accounting software is still recommended to secure bank reconciliations and the storage of supporting evidence.

Simplified regime (153,000 EUR to 3.1 M EUR)#

The majority of CSEs in companies of 200 to 1,500 employees fall under this regime. Obligations: profit & loss statement, balance sheet, simplified notes (annexe) and activity and management report. The ANC 2015-01 chart of accounts must be applied in full. Dedicated accounting software is effectively indispensable.

Full regime (> 3.1 M EUR) and statutory auditor#

Beyond 3.1 M EUR of annual resources, the CSE must apply the full regime (profit & loss, balance sheet, complete notes, detailed management report) AND appoint a statutory auditor (commissaire aux comptes) registered with the CNCC to certify its annual accounts. Typical 2026 CSE statutory auditor fees: 6,000 to 15,000 EUR HT per year.

ANC règlement 2015-01 imposes a 5-digit chart of accounts distinct from the PCG. Extract of the most frequently used accounts:

• 70 — Subsidies received: 701 operating subsidy (AEP), 702 ASC contribution, 703 donations.
• 60 — Operating expenses: 601 office supplies, 602 chartered accountant fees, 603 legal fees.
• 61 — Social and cultural activities expenses: 611 ANCV holiday vouchers, 612 gift vouchers, 613 entertainment tickets, 614 group trips.
• 51 — Cash and bank: 511 AEP bank account, 512 ASC bank account (two strictly separate accounts are mandatory).
• 12 — Year-end surplus: 121 AEP surplus, 122 ASC surplus.

Strict separation between the AEP budget (Activités Économiques et Professionnelles, formerly the operating budget) and the ASC budget (Activités Sociales et Culturelles) is one of the foundational principles of CSE accounting. The AEP budget equals 0.20% of gross payroll (0.22% beyond 2,000 employees) and funds the CSE's economic missions (chartered accountant fees, economic training of elected members, office supplies). The ASC budget, whose amount is freely set by collective agreement or custom (typically 0.5% to 2% of payroll), funds employee benefits (holiday vouchers, gifts, trips). AEP-to-ASC transfers are permitted under conditions: capped at 10% of the AEP surplus at year-end, subject to a majority vote of titular members, and disclosed in the activity report.

For CSEs under the simplified or full regime, an Excel spreadsheet is no longer sufficient: producing the balance sheet, profit & loss and ANC-compliant notes requires genuine accounting software. Pennylane offers five specific advantages for CSEs: 1) importable ANC 2015-01 chart of accounts in a single click, 2) automatic bank feeds for the AEP and ASC accounts handled separately, 3) OCR of supporting documents (treasurer expense receipts scanned via the mobile app), 4) analytical accounting on 2 axes (AEP axis / ASC axis) to allocate every entry, 5) export of the annual tax return package in ANC format for direct transmission to the statutory auditor in the full regime. Pennylane CSE pricing 2026: from 29 EUR/month on the Starter plan, sufficient for small CSEs.

Initial Pennylane setup for a CSE under the simplified or full regime takes around 2 hours and unfolds in 8 steps.

1. Create the "Social and Economic Committee" client file#

In Pennylane, create a new client file of type "Association / Works council". Enter the CSE's SIRET (a CSE must have its own SIRET, separate from the company's), address, and the names of the treasurer and secretary.

2. Import the ANC 2015-01 chart of accounts#

Import the dedicated CSE chart of accounts (Pennylane has provided a ready-to-use ANC 2015-01 template since 2024). Verify the presence of accounts 701, 702 (subsidies), 611-614 (ASC), 511-512 (separate bank accounts).

3. Create the 2 analytical axes (AEP / ASC)#

Configure two analytical axes in the accounting module: AEP and ASC. Every accounting entry must be allocated to one of the two axes. This guarantees the budgetary separation required by ANC 2015-01.

4. Connect bank feeds and import transactions#

Connect the two CSE bank accounts (one for AEP, one for ASC) via the EBICS or DSP2 API. Transactions import automatically every night. Make sure the AEP account is mapped to 511 and the ASC account to 512.

5. OCR of supporting documents (treasurer expense reports)#

Enable OCR for expense reports and supplier invoices. The treasurer scans documents from the Pennylane mobile app; OCR pre-fills amount, date, supplier and proposes an accounting allocation (to be validated).

6. Monthly bank reconciliation#

Perform a monthly bank reconciliation on both accounts: Pennylane automatically suggests matches and the treasurer validates them in 15-30 minutes per month. This is the non-negotiable minimum internal control.

7. Production of the CSE annual tax return package#

At year-end, Pennylane generates the profit & loss, balance sheet and simplified notes in ANC 2015-01 format in a few clicks. The treasurer exports them as PDF and Excel for presentation to the CSE at the plenary approval meeting.

8. Export for the statutory auditor (if applicable)#

For CSEs under the full regime (> 3.1 M EUR), export the trial balance, general ledger and supporting documents to the statutory auditor registered with the CNCC. Pennylane allows secure read-only sharing via a temporary link.

Article L2315-69 of the French Labour Code requires the CSE to present its annual accounts to employees within 6 months of the year-end, through any suitable communication channel (notice board, intranet, information meeting). The recommended format includes: a summary profit & loss (income, expenses by major category, result), a breakdown of ASC expenses by category (holiday vouchers, gifts, trips, entertainment), an overview of the CSE's net assets (available cash, receivables, payables), and an activity report describing the actions undertaken in accessible language.

Approval of the accounts takes place at a plenary meeting of the CSE convened with a formal agenda. The treasurer presents the accounts, the secretary and the statutory auditor (if applicable) speak, and titular members vote by simple majority. Once approved, the accounts are archived for at least 10 years and presented to employees within 6 months (notice board or meeting). Failure to approve or present the accounts exposes the treasurer to civil sanctions and the CSE to potential litigation from employees.

Five mistakes recur in 2026: 1) mixing AEP and ASC on the same bank account (prohibited by ANC), which makes the budget separation impossible to audit and exposes the treasurer to URSSAF reassessments and to refusal of certification by the statutory auditor; 2) exceeding the 10% AEP-to-ASC transfer cap, often by transferring an absolute amount rather than a percentage of the year-end AEP surplus; 3) omitting the OGA / tax filing when ancillary lucrative activities exist (ticketing, voucher resale, room rental), which can lead to a corporate income tax adjustment on the entire activity; 4) failing to approve the accounts at a properly convened plenary meeting, which renders the published accounts legally fragile in case of a challenge by an employee or by the labour inspectorate; 5) failing to appoint a statutory auditor beyond 3.1 M EUR of resources, with criminal consequences for the treasurer and the CSE chairperson. An annual review under free expertise (L2315-81) by a chartered accountant specialised in CSE work typically detects these errors before they trigger litigation, and costs much less than a single URSSAF reassessment.

• Statutory (L2315-78) vs free (L2315-81) CSE expert audit — Which expert audit regime to choose to audit the CSE's bookkeeping.
• PSE in 2026: role of the CSE chartered accountant — Timeline, fees, case study.
• Our partner tool: Pennylane — Why we recommend it for CSEs.
• Chartered accountant specialised in CSE — Outsourced bookkeeping from 3,000 to 8,000 EUR HT per year.

Article written and reviewed by Samuel Hayot, chartered accountant registered with the Ordre des Experts-Comptables of Paris Île-de-France and statutory auditor (commissaire aux comptes, CRCC). Cabinet Hayot Expertise keeps the books of more than 50 CSEs in France, on Pennylane and Dext.

Sources: ANC règlement no. 2015-01 (PDF), URSSAF — CSE gift voucher scale, Légifrance — Article L2315-69, French Ministry of Labour. Up to date as of 12 May 2026. For your specific situation, call 06 51 47 43 92.