Following Colbert's Ordonnance of 1673, most of whose provisions were reiterated in the Code de Commerce, 1807 and the Law of Bankruptcy, 1838, traders in France were under a legal obligation to keep accounts of their business activities. In the event of bankruptcy, traders were potentially...

From 2005, European listed firms and many more around the world are required to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The introduction of a uniform accounting system is expected to ensure greater comparability and transparency of financial reporting around the world. Over...

During the nineteenth century, the development of joint-stock companies and the take-off of capital markets confered a new dimension to accounting. The only guarantee offered to third parties was that the capital of a limited company had to remain intact, thus it was left to accounting to...

This article looks at the Enron affair in terms of what investors and experts fail to take into account to being able to predict Enron collapse. The authors show how analysts could have predicted Enron's difficulties in view of the incoherence observed in its strategic decisions, from the...

L'existence d'une réglementation prudentielle assise sur les fonds propres influence les choix comptables des banques. Les positions restrictives de l'IASC sur les montages déconsolidants et le recours croissant au marché pour évaluer les actifs sont susceptibles de remettre en cause leurs...