Chartered accountant for judicial administrators and insolvency practitioners: special per-mandate accounting, third-party funds, mandatory guarantee fund, BNC 2035 returns and per-mandate profitability.
A judicial administrator or insolvency practitioner practice cannot be run like an ordinary professional firm. You are an officer of the court, listed on a national register, and every day you handle funds that are not yours: the cash of companies under insolvency proceedings, distributions to creditors, sums to be consigned. The boundary between your practice's own accounts and the accounts of the mandates you receive is the heart of the matter, and that is precisely where the profession's inspections focus.
Our firm supports regulated professions that handle third-party funds (practices, offices, professional structures) from the chartered accountancy firm in Paris 8. This page gives you our concrete view of what makes the difference in an AJMJ practice: special per-mandate accounting, deposit of funds, profitability under regulated fees, and guarantee obligations.
Quick answer. A judicial administrator or insolvency practitioner practice keeps two distinct sets of accounts: the practice's own (BNC, controlled 2035 return, often as a SELARL or SCP) and the special accounting of mandates. For each mandate received, a dedicated account records all movements, the funds of the proceedings are deposited and kept separate from the practice's own funds (notably with the Caisse des depots), and membership of a guarantee fund is mandatory. Profitability is steered mandate by mandate, because remuneration falls under a regulated tariff.
The judicial administrator and the insolvency practitioner are often confused, but their roles differ, and this shows in the accounting.
In both cases, you belong to a regulated profession arising from Law no. 85-99 of 25 January 1985, now codified in the Commercial Code (judicial administrators: articles L. 811-1 et seq.; insolvency practitioners: articles L. 812-1 et seq.; common provisions: articles L. 814-1 et seq.). The profession is supervised by the National Council of Judicial Administrators and Insolvency Practitioners (CNAJMJ). Some also carry out ad hoc agent or conciliator missions within preventive proceedings.
This is the one thing nothing replaces in an AJMJ practice. For each mandate received, you open a third-party account, or sub-account per mandate, that records all the movements of that mandate. The regulatory framework is set out in articles R. 814-29 et seq. of the Commercial Code (keeping of accounts and deposit of funds).
In practice, this means:
In practices that handle third-party funds, the most costly error is almost never an arithmetic mistake: it is a mixing of logics. A practice cost charged to a mandate, a cash advance from one file to another, a lag in reconciling the mandate accounts with the deposit statements. These are exactly the discrepancies a profession inspection looks for. Our conviction: mandate accounting is not a by-product of the practice's own accounting, it is the first compliance deliverable.
Because you handle third-party funds, the profession imposes strong guarantees. Membership of a guarantee fund ensuring the representation of the funds handled is mandatory, as is professional civil liability insurance (articles L. 814-3 et seq.). Added to this are regular inspections of the profession, organised under the aegis of the CNAJMJ, and a reinforced professional secrecy.
These obligations translate directly into accounting: the guarantee fund contribution and the professional liability premium are structural costs of the practice, to be budgeted and tracked. The ability to justify at any time the representation of the funds (consistency between the mandate accounts and the deposits) is a central control point.
Your remuneration falls under a regulated tariff: the fees are set according to regulatory scales and fixed within the proceedings, where applicable by the court. You therefore have little pricing freedom. The consequence is clear: profitability is not steered through price, it is steered mandate by mandate and through time spent.
The profitability of an AJMJ practice rests on three levers: the duration of the proceedings (a mandate that drags on ties up time without always generating proportionally higher remuneration), the cost of production per file (staff time, subcontracting, expenses), and the mandate mix (file profiles do not have the same time-to-remuneration ratio). A per-mandate dashboard, updated regularly, is worth more than an overall year-end analysis.
| Indicator to track | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Number of mandates in progress | Real workload of the practice and of each staff member |
| Average fees per mandate | Reading of regulated remuneration, by file type |
| Average duration of proceedings | A long mandate ties up resources at a fixed remuneration |
| Output per staff member | Measure of productivity and team sizing |
| Mandate accounts / deposits consistency | Indicator of compliance and representation of funds |
A common case in our files: an AJMJ SELARL consults us with sound practice accounting, but mandate accounting scattered between a sector tool and side spreadsheets. The result: laborious reconciliation between the mandate accounts and the deposits, and poor visibility on per-file profitability. The work consisted of making the separation of flows reliable, establishing a regular consistency between mandate accounts and deposits, and setting up monthly per-mandate monitoring (time spent, costs, estimated remuneration). The bookkeeping and review of the practice's accounts form the foundation on which the special accounting rests. No figure from this case can be generalised: each practice has its own file structure and organisation.
Your activity falls, for tax purposes, under non-commercial profits (BNC), with a controlled 2035 return. Practising through a company is possible: SELARL or SCP, structures common in the profession. The choice of form and of the manager's remuneration carries social and tax consequences that deserve an assessment specific to your situation. For structuring and governance questions, the support of legal advice in Paris usefully complements the accounting analysis.
When the practice reaches a certain size, or in the event of a transaction on the operating company, an statutory audit and auditor perspective may be relevant. For matters relating to the end of life of companies you administer, our company dissolution and liquidation service sheds light on the accounting and tax aspects on the side of the entities concerned.
Our approach respects the professional secrecy and independence expected of a regulated profession, as for the notarial offices and law firms we support.
Every AJMJ practice has its own volume of mandates, organisation and tools. The right starting point is a conversation about your actual situation: number of mandates, how the special accounting is kept, organisation of deposits, form of practice. We offer an initial meeting to frame the scope and priorities.
Updated 19 June 2026. Informative content reviewed by a chartered accountant registered with the Île-de-France Chartered Accountants Board. A decision specific to your practice requires examination of your situation, your documents and the regulations in force.
Judicial administrators and insolvency practitioners are regulated professions, officers or auxiliaries of the court listed on national registers, arising from Law no. 85-99 of 25 January 1985 codified in the Commercial Code. Their activity falls under BNC (controlled 2035 return) and is carried out as a sole practice or through a company (SELARL, SCP). Their distinctive feature is the large-scale handling of third-party funds, which requires special per-mandate accounting, separate deposit of funds (notably with the Caisse des depots) and membership of a guarantee fund.
Establish a watertight boundary between the practice's accounts (BNC, 2035) and the special accounting of mandates. No practice cost charged to a mandate, no crossed advances between files.
For each mandate received, open an account that records all movements of the file, in line with the framework of articles R. 814-29 et seq. of the Commercial Code, with full traceability of receipts and disbursements.
Regularly reconcile the mandate accounts with the deposits of funds (notably with the Caisse des depots for insolvency proceedings). The representation of the funds must be justifiable at any time.
Record and track the guarantee fund contribution, professional liability insurance and AML-CFT due diligence as structural costs of the practice, documented for profession inspections.
Implement a per-mandate dashboard (time spent, costs, estimated remuneration, duration of proceedings) to steer profitability despite the regulated tariff, and anticipate files with a poor time-to-remuneration ratio.
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Because the funds of the proceedings are not the practice's funds. You keep the practice's accounts (BNC, controlled 2035 return) and, in parallel, special accounting for the mandates. For each mandate received, a dedicated account records all movements (framework of articles R. 814-29 et seq. of the Commercial Code). The two logics must never be mixed.
Funds held for the proceedings are deposited and strictly separated from the practice's own funds, with the deposit made notably with the Caisse des depots et consignations for the funds of insolvency proceedings. The ongoing consistency between the mandate accounts and these deposits is a central control point of the profession.
Yes. Membership of a guarantee fund ensuring the representation of the funds handled is mandatory, as is professional civil liability insurance (articles L. 814-3 et seq. of the Commercial Code). These are structural costs to be budgeted and tracked in the practice's accounts.
Remuneration falls under a regulated tariff, set according to scales and fixed within the proceedings, sometimes by the court. Pricing room is therefore limited. Profitability is steered mandate by mandate: duration of proceedings, time spent, cost of production and file mix, tracked in a regularly updated dashboard.
The activity falls under BNC with a controlled 2035 return, and practising through a company is possible, most often as a SELARL or SCP. The choice depends on your volume of mandates, your remuneration method and your wealth objectives. It is a case-by-case decision, both in accounting and legal terms.
Professions that handle third-party funds are subject to reinforced anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing obligations, in addition to professional secrecy. Documenting due diligence is an integral part of the file and must be capable of being justified during profession inspections.
The judicial administrator acts mainly in safeguard and reorganisation proceedings, where the company keeps operating. The insolvency practitioner represents the creditors and acts as liquidator in compulsory liquidation, where they realise the assets and organise the distribution to creditors. Each type of proceeding has a different time-to-remuneration ratio, which justifies mandate-by-mandate monitoring.
The activity falls under non-commercial profits (BNC), with a controlled 2035 return. Practising through a company is possible, most often as a SELARL or SCP. The choice of form and of the manager's remuneration carries social and tax consequences to be weighed on a case-by-case basis.
Chartered Accountant, registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Regulated French accounting and audit firm based in Paris 8, built to support companies across France with a digital and decision-oriented approach.
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