Commercial legislation and the emergence of corporate auditing in France, 1856–1935

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Enacted in 1856, the Joint-Stock Limited Partnerships Act was the first legislation in France to require joint-stock companies to establish a stewardship mechanism, the so called ‘conseil de surveillance’. Subsequent legislation passed in 1867 partially harmonised the auditing regime for all joint-stock companies until the Decree Law of 1935 strengthened it even further. The creation of new audit and stewardship and monitoring mechanisms within companies was the subject of debate among a number of interested groups including elected officials, entrepreneurs, jurists and the courts. The study demonstrates that, as well as being technical disciplines, accounting and auditing represent a space for social conflict, where their functioning is called into question in the context of political change, financial scandals and ideological shifts.