Are you a foreign company setting up in France?
The country of Molière’s language attracts investors. Setting up a business on our soil involves compliance with the various regulations in force, whether legal, commercial, financial, social, fiscal or accounting. How do you go about it when you’re a stranger to the country’s laws and organizations?
Legal or contractual audits: assignments to organize for your French company
A foreign company pursuing such a project is keen to consolidate its approach and actions. It aims to work with local specialists in management, finance and business organization. It then commissions audit assignments from a French auditor, the most suitable to carry them out on the territory.
Sometimes, setting up a business involves buying out or merging with an existing company. This requires the involvement of a commissaire aux apports or à la fusion. When certain thresholds are crossed, a statutory auditor is required to audit the company’s financial statements with a view to certification. For these legally required services, a foreign company must imperatively call on an auditor, registered on the list established by the Haut Conseil des Commissaires aux Comptes.
Audit engagements: recurring questions from foreign companies based in France
Foreign companies located in France usually contact Expand CPA with the following questions:
- Are you authorized to carry out legal audits such as statutory auditors, contribution auditors or merger auditors?
- What are your areas of intervention?
- Can your tax specialists perform a legal and tax audit of our French sub-group as well as transfer pricing?
- Do you have the skills to conduct a social audit with regard to French regulations (labor law and application of social contribution rates)?
- Would you audit the acquired company’s information systems and in particular its ability to pass the e-invoicing obligation as early as 2026?
- Can you support us in our search for investors?
French auditors: legal assignments in foreign companies located in France
The statutory services offered by Expand CPA are carried out in compliance with the Code of Ethics of the profession. Article L.821-13 of the French Commercial Code specifies that this professional complies with the international standards adopted in Europe and the French standards that complete the system.
Recurring statutory audit: statutory audit engagements
The French auditor carries out his auditing mission in complete independence. He/she seeks to form an opinion with a view to certifying or not certifying the financial statements, with or without reservations.
Each year, the statutory auditor carries out his work in two main stages:
- Interim intervention generally takes place a few months before closing. Its purpose is to assess risk through internal control and to prepare for the closing phase
- The so-called final assignment takes place after the annual financial statements have been drawn up by the company’s accounting department or chartered accountant
During these assignments, the auditor analyzes financial flows from the accounts. They carry out spot checks according to the extent of the risks previously identified. He or she contacts third parties, banks and lawyers. Then, he issues his report and presents it to the company’s general meeting.
One-off legal audits: specific interventions according to the French structure’s projects
During the life of an American company based in France, any entrepreneur may need to have a specific one-off statutory audit carried out. This can be carried out by statutory auditors such as Expand CPA, or by a court-appointed expert.
These missions involve :
- Contribution auditor to assess the value of assets contributed to a company, at incorporation or during a capital increase
- Merger commissioner to evaluate the transaction, by checking the valuation criteria adopted and the exchange ratio
French auditor: contractual assignments for foreign companies based in France
Expand CPA also offers the services of a French auditor for a variety of one-off assignments, depending on management’s need for control or reassurance. Both chartered accountants and statutory auditors can carry out these contractual services.
Our firm adapts the content of the audit assignment to the requirements and characteristics of your company. Here are some possible themes:
- IT audit
- Audit of accounting procedures
- Audit of administrative and commercial procedures
- Social audit
- Legal and tax audits
- Advice and support for management in setting up a company, increasing capital, mergers, demergers or partial contributions of assets
- Help with fund-raising or business planning to develop local business
Why choose Expand CPA as the French auditor of a foreign company?
Expand CPA, an expert in assisting foreign companies, has a number of assets for both legal and contractual audits:
- Our French auditors benefit from the accommodations and skills required to carry out these financial audits
- For the contractual audit mission, if we already perform accounting, social or tax services, we have excellent knowledge of the structure’s flows and processes
- Our expertise in supporting foreign companies established in France has enabled us to gain a better understanding of their operations and also to adapt our communication with their managers. Our French auditors speak fluent English, a major asset
Other services provided by Expand CPA in France
Here are the other assignments our firm offers to American companies based in France:
- Accounting services for foreign companies established in France
- French personal taxation
- Foreign companies: our French administrative services
- Our HR expertise for a foreign company in France
- French tax advisor
- French legal counsel for foreign companies in France
- US taxation for Americans based in France