Reference guide
Statutory audit in France: the commissaire aux comptes explained
In France, the legal audit of financial statements is carried out by a commissaire aux comptes, a regulated professional appointed by the entity's members and entrusted with a public interest role. This guide explains in plain English how the French system works, as it stands in November 2026.
What a commissaire aux comptes is
The commissaire aux comptes (CAC) is the French statutory auditor. Only a person or firm registered with the French audit regulator may hold the office. An auditor registered in another country cannot sign a French statutory audit report on that basis alone.
The profession is governed by Book VIII, Title II of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce), reorganised by ordinance no. 2023-1142 of 6 December 2023 and decree no. 2023-1394 of 30 December 2023. Older sources often cite articles L.820-1 to L.823-20 under their previous numbering. Many of these provisions now appear under L.821-1 and following.
Auditor or accountant?
Foreign groups often confuse two French professions. The expert-comptable (chartered accountant) prepares or reviews the accounts for the company and advises it. The commissaire aux comptes audits them independently and reports to the members. Many professionals hold both qualifications, but the same person or firm cannot act in both roles for the same entity.
Who must appoint one
The obligation depends on the type of entity and, in most cases, on size. The main cases are below. Our online test gives a first answer for a specific entity.
| Entity | Appointment required when | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial company (SA, SAS, SARL, SNC, SCS, SCA) | Two of three exceeded at year end: balance sheet total €5,000,000, net turnover €10,000,000, average of 50 employees | D.221-5 |
| Company controlling a small group | Same three figures, measured on a combined basis, unless the parent is itself controlled by an entity that has appointed a statutory auditor | L.821-43, D.821-171 |
| Significant controlled company | Two of three: balance sheet total €2,500,000, net turnover €5,000,000, 25 employees | L.821-43, D.821-172 |
| Entity required to publish consolidated financial statements | Always, with at least two statutory auditors | L.821-41 |
| Public interest entity | Always | L.821-42 |
| Non-profit association | Public cash grants above €153,000 a year, or tax-deductible donations above €153,000 a year | L.612-4, D.612-5; law no. 87-571, art. 4-1 |
| Association or civil-law company with an economic activity | Two of three: 50 employees, €3,100,000 turnover or resources, €1,550,000 balance sheet total | L.612-1, R.612-1 |
| Works council (CSE) | Two of three: 50 employees, €3,100,000 resources, €1,550,000 balance sheet total | Labour Code, L.2315-73, D.2315-40 |
For a company, one year end above the thresholds is enough: the auditor is then appointed during the following financial year. Other regimes exist for foundations, endowment funds, trade unions and regulated sectors. See SMEs, associations, works councils and consolidated financial statements.
French subsidiaries of foreign groups are assessed under these same rules. Whether membership of a foreign group changes the outcome of the group tests has to be checked case by case, from the actual control chain.
Appointment and term of office
- Who appoints. The ordinary general meeting, in entities that have one (article L.821-40). The appointment is then filed with the commercial court registry (greffe).
- Term. Six financial years (article L.821-44). The term ends after the general meeting that approves the accounts of the sixth year.
- Three-year option. A company may limit the term to three financial years when the appointment is voluntary or results from the group rules (article L.821-46). This engagement, known as ALPE, has lighter procedures and includes a report to management on financial, accounting and management risks (article L.821-57).
- Substitute auditor. Where the appointed auditor is an individual or a single-shareholder firm, a substitute auditor must also be appointed.
- Leaving the regime. A running term goes to its end. At expiry, a company no longer has to renew if it stayed below two of the three thresholds during the two preceding financial years (article D.221-5).
A statutory auditor cannot be dismissed at will by shareholders. Challenge and removal are decided by the court, under articles L.821-49 and L.821-50.
What the statutory auditor does
- Audits the financial statements and states whether they are regular and sincere and give a true and fair view. The opinion is unqualified, qualified, or a refusal to certify.
- Checks the consistency of the management report and the documents sent to shareholders with the financial statements.
- Reports on related-party agreements (conventions réglementées) in a special report to the general meeting, where applicable.
- Triggers the alert procedure (procédure d'alerte) when it identifies facts likely to threaten the business as a going concern (articles L.234-1 and L.234-2).
- Reports criminal offences it discovers to the public prosecutor. This duty is a specific feature of the French system, and the auditor is otherwise bound by professional secrecy.
- Does not manage. The auditor may not interfere in management and does not prepare the accounts.
Audits are performed under French professional standards (normes d'exercice professionnel, NEP) and a code of ethics. Reports filed in France are issued in French. A courtesy English version for a foreign parent can be agreed in the engagement letter. Audit work on an IFRS or US GAAP group reporting package is a separate request from the statutory audit and must be agreed as such.
One-off engagements
French law also requires an independent professional for certain transactions, often in companies with no permanent auditor:
- Contribution auditor for contributions in kind.
- Merger auditor for mergers, demergers and similar transactions.
- Transformation auditor for a change of legal form.
- Special benefits auditor where particular advantages are granted.
- Ad hoc statutory auditor for specific capital transactions, including debt-to-equity conversions and free share plans.
Fees
French law does not set a price. For most entities it sets a range of audit hours based on the balance sheet total plus operating and financial income (article D.821-188). The hourly rate is freely agreed. Details are in our guides to company audit fees and association audit fees.
Independence and oversight
The Haute Autorité de l'Audit (H2A) replaced the Haut Conseil du Commissariat aux Comptes (H3C) on 1 January 2024. It keeps the register, oversees audit quality, conducts inspections and imposes disciplinary sanctions (articles L.821-70 and L.821-71). Inspections of auditors with no public interest entity clients may be delegated to the Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (CNCC), the French institute of statutory auditors, which represents the profession alongside its regional bodies.
Conflict of interest rules are strict. Former statutory auditors of a company are also barred from certain roles in it for a defined period (article L.821-32). For public interest entities, European rules add a limit on the maximum duration of the engagement, implemented in article L.821-45.
Filing and publicity
Commercial companies (for an SNC, only where all its partners are limited companies) must file their annual financial statements with the commercial court registry, with the auditor's report where one is required, within one month of their approval, or two months when filed online (articles L.232-21 to L.232-23). Small companies may request confidentiality for all or part of their accounts, subject to conditions.
Failure to appoint an auditor
- Management is exposed to a criminal penalty of two years' imprisonment and a €30,000 fine (article L.821-6).
- Any member of the general meeting may ask the court to order the appointment (article L.821-47).
- Ordinary general meeting resolutions adopted without a duly appointed statutory auditor can be annulled (article L.821-5). This regime is due to change on 1 January 2027 under ordinance no. 2025-229, so check the version in force at the relevant date.
French terms you will meet
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Commissaire aux comptes (CAC) | Statutory auditor |
| Commissariat aux comptes | Statutory audit |
| Expert-comptable | Chartered accountant |
| Certification des comptes | Audit opinion on the financial statements |
| Exercice | Financial year |
| Assemblée générale | General meeting |
| Greffe | Commercial court registry |
| Lettre de mission | Engagement letter |
| Conventions réglementées | Regulated related-party agreements |
| Procédure d'alerte | Going concern alert procedure |
Our approach at audit france
Each engagement is led from start to finish by a signing partner, who is the client's only point of contact. Our partners work in French and English, and our process is entirely digital, which suits subsidiaries whose management sits outside France.
Why choose audit france
A 100% digital firm dedicated solely to statutory audit, registered with the Haute Autorité de l'Audit (H2A) and a member of the Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (CNCC) and working across mainland France and the French overseas territories.
This page is a practical guide in English, for information only. It is not legal advice, and only the French texts have legal force. Check the version in force for your own situation.