France Financial Statements

---
name: france-financial-statements
description: "Use this skill when preparing, reviewing, or advising on annual financial statements (comptes annuels) for a French company. Trigger on phrases like \"comptes annuels\", \"dépôt des comptes\", \"greffe\", \"Plan Comptable Général\", \"PCG\", \"bilan\", \"compte de résultat\", \"annexe\", \"commissaire aux comptes\", \"audit France\", \"petite entreprise\", \"micro-entreprise comptable\", \"liasse fiscale\", or any question about preparing and filing statutory accounts under French commercial law. Covers PCG framework, size thresholds, required statements, formats, notes, filing deadlines, and audit requirements."
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/france-financial-statements"
  jurisdiction: "FR"
  tax_year: "2026"
  last_updated: "2026-10-31"
---

# France: annual accounts (comptes annuels), their filing and the statutory audit

This skill prepares, reviews and advises on the annual accounts of a French commercial company under the Plan Comptable Général (PCG): the size category, the documents to draw up, the formats, the year-end adjustments, approval by the partners, filing at the greffe, the confidentiality options and the statutory auditor (commissaire aux comptes, CAC). Figures are for tax year 2026. The accounts of financial years closed in 2025, which are approved, filed and declared in 2026, and the accounts of financial years running during 2026 use the same size and auditor thresholds, because those thresholds apply to financial years opened on or after 1 January 2024; the corporation tax return dates in Section 11 are those printed for financial years closed on 31 December 2025, and the CVAE rate in Section 5 is the one for 2026. The rules stated are those in force on 19 October 2026, read on official pages between 19 September and 19 October 2026; each page's own date stamp is given in its table, and some pages were last checked by their publisher in 2024 or 2025.

The selected clarifications to the size-change, disclosure, reserve, confidentiality, presentation and filing rules were checked on 29 October 2026 against the cited code and ANC text. Earlier page-version and review dates above are preserved.

## Section 1: Quick reference

**Quick reference**

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Country | France (République française) |
| Currency and accounting language | EUR; accounting documents are established in euros and in French (Code de commerce L. 123-22, reproduced in the ANC compendium) |
| Filing authority | Greffe du tribunal de commerce (or tribunal des activités économiques) of the registered office; in Alsace-Moselle, the tribunal judiciaire |
| Filing channel | Online on the guichet des formalités des entreprises, or on paper at the greffe, or by registered post |
| Accounting framework | Plan Comptable Général, ANC regulation no. 2014-03 as amended (consolidated text of 1 January 2026) |
| Legal references printed by the filing page | Code de commerce, art. L. 232-21 to L. 232-26 (filing), art. R. 123-111 and R. 123-111-1 (filing deadline and confidentiality), art. D. 123-200 (size thresholds) |
| Size thresholds | Décret n° 2024-152 du 28 février 2024; see Section 3 |
| Approval of the accounts | SA, SARL, EURL and SASU: within 6 months of the year end. For a SAS with multiple shareholders, apply the period fixed in its statutes. See Section 9 |
| Filing deadline | Within 1 month after approval, or within 2 months when filed electronically. See Section 9 |
| Penalties for not filing | See the table in Section 9 |
| Statutory auditor | Compulsory above the thresholds in Section 10; an SA is not audited automatically |
| Companion skills | `france-bookkeeping` (books, chart of accounts, depreciation), `france-vat-return`, `france-einvoice`, `france-formation`, `france-payroll`, `fr-tax-audit` |

## The method, step by step

1. **Identify the company.** Note the legal form (SAS, SASU, SA, SARL, EURL, SCI or other), whether it controls or is controlled by another entity, its tax regime (régime réel simplifié or normal, impôt sur les sociétés or impôt sur le revenu) and the date its financial year ends. Determine its actual income-tax reporting regime separately from its VAT reporting regime. Code de commerce L. 123-25 permits a commercial legal person under the simplified regime to use an abridged annexe and, subject to its specific exclusion, record receivables and debts at the close. That latter timing relief excludes a company controlled by a company that prepares accounts under L. 233-16; it is not an automatic ban on every accounting simplification for every group member. The administrative overview is https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F37169; use the actual statutory distinction reproduced in the ANC compendium.
2. **Find the size category** from the balance sheet total, the net turnover and the average headcount of the year being closed, using the table in Section 3 (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F37169). The category decides the annexe, the management report, the presentation and the confidentiality option.
3. **Close the books under the PCG.** Take an inventory of assets and liabilities (at most every 12 months, as the accounting obligations page says) and post the year-end adjustments in Section 5, using the PCG articles cited there (https://www.anc.gouv.fr/files/anc/files/1_Normes_fran%C3%A7aises/recueil/2026/Recueil-PCG-Janvier-2026.pdf).
4. **Draw up the comptes annuels** (bilan, compte de résultat and, unless exempt, annexe) in the presentation the size allows (Sections 4, 6, 7 and 8), and the rapport de gestion where Section 4 requires one (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/actualites/A18259).
5. **File the corporation tax return** (déclaration n° 2065 with the liasse fiscale) by the date in Section 11 (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F23575). The tax deadline and the approval deadline are set separately, and the tax return can fall due before the accounts are approved.
6. **Check the auditor position** against Section 10 (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31440). Where a CAC is in office, its report goes to the approval meeting and into the filing.
7. **Approve the accounts and appropriate the result** within the period in Section 9 (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31214), including the transfer to the legal reserve in Section 9 (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F24024).
8. **File at the greffe** within the period in Section 9, with the documents listed for the size, and attach a confidentiality declaration if the company is entitled to one and wants it (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31214).
9. **Keep the books and vouchers** for the period in the Section 3 table, counted from the close of the financial year (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F37169).

A micro-enterprise that uses the annexe exemption must still give the information listed in PCG art. 811-7 after its balance sheet: the accounting regulation used; off-balance-sheet financial commitments, guarantees, contingent liabilities and security interests; retirement commitments; commitments to related or associated entities; advances and credits to management bodies with their terms, repayments and commitments on their behalf; and, for legal persons, the number, value and movements of own shares. This is an exemption from the annexe, not from those disclosures. Source: the ANC compendium in Section 2.

## Ask the client first

- What is the legal form and number of shareholders? For a SAS with multiple shareholders, what approval period do the statutes set? For a SASU or EURL, does the sole shareholder personally hold the relevant management office and use the statutory signed-document deposit route?
- Does the company control another entity, or is it controlled by one? (This changes the auditor thresholds, the management report and whether consolidated accounts are due.)
- For the year being closed and the year before: what were the balance sheet total, the net turnover excluding VAT and the average headcount?
- Is a statutory auditor in office, and when does the mandate end?
- Is the company's activity the management of shareholdings and securities? (A micro-enterprise with that activity cannot skip the annexe.)
- Does the company want its accounts, or its compte de résultat, kept out of publication?

## When to refuse or refer

- Consolidated accounts, IFRS accounts, and the choice between French standards and IFRS for a group. This skill covers individual accounts only; consolidated accounts under French standards follow ANC regulation no. 2020-01, which this skill does not cover.
- Public-interest entities (EIP) and listed companies, and banks, insurers and other entities with a sector accounting regulation of their own (the PCG applies to them only where their own regulation is silent).
- Associations, foundations and private training bodies (organismes de formation), which have their own auditor rules.
- Sustainability reporting (informations en matière de durabilité).
- A company whose equity has fallen below half of its share capital: a specific legal procedure applies (https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F24024). Refer to a lawyer or accountant.
- A foreign company filing the accounts of a French branch, mergers, transformations, liquidation and a first financial year longer or shorter than 12 months.
- Signing an audit opinion. Only a commissaire aux comptes may do that.

## Section 2: Reporting framework

**Reporting framework**

| Entity | Rule |
| --- | --- |
| Every entity required to draw up annual accounts | The PCG (ANC regulation no. 2014-03) applies, unless a sector regulation of its own covers the point |
| Micro-enterprise | Bilan and compte de résultat; may skip the annexe unless its activity is managing shareholdings and securities |
| Small enterprise (petite entreprise) | May present its bilan and compte de résultat in the abridged system (système abrégé), PCG art. 811-5 |
| Medium-sized enterprise (moyenne entreprise) | May present its compte de résultat in the simplified model of PCG art. 822-2 |
| Consolidated accounts | Outside this skill (see "When to refuse or refer") |

**PCG text, consolidated version of 1 January 2026**

| Item | Rule | Note (verbatim) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all rules below | https://www.anc.gouv.fr/files/anc/files/1_Normes_fran%C3%A7aises/recueil/2026/Recueil-PCG-Janvier-2026.pdf |
| Scope of the PCG | Applies to every entity required to draw up annual accounts | "le Plan Comptable Général constitue le règlement comptable applicable à toute entité tenue d’établir des comptes annuels" |
| Presentation, small enterprises | Abridged system allowed | "Les petites entreprises définies à l’article L. 123-16 du code de commerce peuvent adopter une présentation simplifiée de leurs comptes annuels" |
| Presentation, medium enterprises | Simplified P&L model allowed | "Les moyennes entreprises définies à l’article L. 123-16 du code de commerce peuvent adopter une présentation simplifiée de leur compte de résultat suivant le modèle proposé à l’article 822-2" |

## Section 3: Size thresholds

A company belongs to a category when it meets at least 2 of the 3 criteria of that category, and each criterion is met when the figure is less than or equal to the limit (inférieur ou égal). The test uses the balance sheet total, the net turnover (excluding VAT for the small and medium tests, as the page writes it) and the average number of employees over the year. A company that does not meet 2 of the 3 medium-enterprise criteria is a large enterprise; the accounting obligations page gives no large-enterprise figures, and the news item prints them as above the medium limits ("Grandes entreprises Supérieur à 25 millions € Supérieur à 50 millions € Plus de 250 salariés"). These limits apply to the accounts and reports of financial years opened on or after 1 January 2024 (news item of 5 March 2024, now marked by the site as an older article, https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/actualites/A17100). For the category tests in Code de commerce L. 123-16 and L. 123-16-1, crossing or ceasing to cross two of the three limits changes the category only if it occurs for two consecutive financial years. Apply the annual-basis test and the exclusions in L. 123-16-2; the current ANC compendium reproduces these articles.

**Size categories, simplified regime and record keeping**

| Item | Value | Note (verbatim, page checked by its publisher on 07 septembre 2026) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all figures below | https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F37169 |
| Micro-enterprise, balance sheet total, at most | EUR 450,000 | "Bilan total inférieur ou égal à 450 000 €" |
| Micro-enterprise, net turnover, at most | EUR 900,000 | "Montant net du chiffre d'affaires inférieur ou égal à 900 000 €" |
| Micro-enterprise, average headcount, at most | 10 employees | "Nombre moyen de salariés employés au cours de l'année inférieur ou égal à 10" |
| Small enterprise, balance sheet total, at most | EUR 7,500,000 | "Bilan total inférieur ou égal à 7 500 000 €" |
| Small enterprise, net turnover excluding VAT, at most | EUR 15,000,000 | "Montant net HT du chiffre d'affaires inférieur ou égal à 15 000 000 €" |
| Small enterprise, average headcount, at most | 50 employees | "Nombre moyen de salariés employés au cours de l'année inférieur ou égal à 50" |
| Medium enterprise, balance sheet total, at most | EUR 25,000,000 | "Bilan total inférieur ou égal à 25 000 000 €" |
| Medium enterprise, net turnover excluding VAT, at most | EUR 50,000,000 | "Montant net HT du chiffre d'affaires inférieur ou égal à 50 000 000 €" |
| Medium enterprise, average headcount, at most | 250 employees | "Nombre moyen de salariés employés au cours de l'année inférieur ou égal à 250" |
| How many criteria | 2 of 3 | "si elle remplit 2 des 3 critères suivants" |
| Ordinary prior-year simplified VAT turnover reference, selling, catering and accommodation | EUR 945,000 | Current BOI-BAREME-000036 20260701, L. 162-4 reference; apply the separate overrun and activity conditions in `france-vat-return` |
| Ordinary prior-year simplified VAT turnover reference, other activities | EUR 286,000 | Current BOI-BAREME-000036 20260701, L. 162-4 reference; apply the separate overrun and activity conditions in `france-vat-return` |
| Previous-year VAT threshold for compulsory monthly filing under CGI art. 287-3 bis | Monthly filing is triggered above EUR 15,000; exactly EUR 15,000 does not cross this gate | "taxe exigible au titre de l'année précédente est supérieur à 15 000 €" |
| Keeping the books and vouchers, from the close of the year | at least 10 years | "au moins 10 ans à partir de la clôture de l'exercice comptable" |
| Fine for not keeping them | EUR 10,000 | "s'expose à une amende de 10 000 €" |

Accounting relief and VAT reporting use separate legal tests. Apply L. 123-25 to the company's actual simplified income-tax status and the specific controlled-company restriction for closing-date receivable/debt recording. For VAT, CGI art. 287-3 bis uses previous-year VAT above EUR 15,000 as the compulsory monthly-filing trigger; the accounting overview's strict-below wording does not settle the equality case. Separately apply the turnover continuation/overrun rules, options and activity exclusions, including intra-EU acquisitions/imports/suspensive-regime exits under art. 287-3 ter, using `france-vat-return`. The two VAT turnover references above do not establish complete eligibility by themselves. Primary/current sources: the ANC compendium, CGI art. 287 (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006069577/LEGISCTA000006191928/2026-10-29) and the 2026 indexed turnover table (https://bofip.impots.gouv.fr/bofip/9368-PGP.html/identifiant=BOI-BAREME-000036-20260701).

## Section 4: Required financial statements

**Required documents by size (individual accounts)**

| Document | Micro | Petite | Moyenne |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bilan (balance sheet) | Required | Required; may be in simplified form | Required |
| Compte de résultat (P&L) | Required | Required; may be in simplified form | Required; may use the simplified model |
| Annexe (notes) | Not required, unless the activity is managing shareholdings and securities | Required; may be abridged if the company is under the simplified corporation tax regime | Required; may be abridged if the company is under the simplified corporation tax regime |
| Rapport de gestion (management report) | Exempt only under the conditions of Code de commerce L. 232-1 IV; see below | Same conditional exemption | Required |
| Rapport du CAC (auditor's report) | Filed if a CAC is in office | Filed if a CAC is in office | Filed if a CAC is in office; Section 9 relieves only the simplified published presentation from accompanying the report, not the deposit duty |
| Tableau des flux de trésorerie (cash flow statement) | Not one of the documents that make up the annual accounts on the official page | Same | Same |

Sources: https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F37169 (composition of the accounts by size and its separate group warning), https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31214 (micro annexe exemption), and https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/actualites/A18259 (historical management-report explanation). Current Code de commerce L. 232-1 IV exempts commercial micro and small companies within L. 230-1 from preparing a management report, except the L. 123-16-2 categories and companies whose activity is managing shareholdings or securities: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000037313425. Do not infer a management-report exemption solely from a size label. Group membership also requires a separate accounting and consolidation assessment. Control under L. 233-16 does not by itself settle whether consolidated accounts are due: apply the conditional exemptions in L. 233-17 and L. 233-17-1 before concluding that they must be prepared; their full application and consolidated-account methods remain outside this individual-accounts Guide (https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000005634379/LEGISCTA000006161295/). For a large enterprise, use the full individual-account documents and models; do not apply small or medium presentation relief.

## Section 5: Year-end adjustments checklist

**Year-end adjustments checklist**

| # | Adjustment | France-specific notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Amortissements (depreciation) | PCG art. 214-13 follows the asset's consumption of economic benefits; use straight-line if no better method fits. The component approach and any separate tax declining-balance treatment are covered by `france-bookkeeping`; an accounting method does not by itself establish tax eligibility |
| 2 | Provisions pour risques et charges | PCG art. 322-1: a liability is recognised when the entity has an obligation to a third party and an outflow of resources without at least equivalent consideration is probable or certain |
| 3 | Charges constatées d'avance (prepayments) | Strict matching of charges to the year |
| 4 | Produits constatés d'avance (deferred income) | Revenue received but not yet earned |
| 5 | Dépréciation des créances douteuses (doubtful debts) | Individual assessment. The VAT side of an unpaid invoice is a separate question: see `france-vat-return` |
| 6 | Stocks et en-cours (inventory) | Apply PCG art. 214-22 and its specific exceptions in 214-23/214-24; assess selling price and prospects for impairment. FIFO or weighted average cost applies to interchangeable items under 213-34. Do not apply an unconditional lower-of-cost formula where a firm sale contract meets 214-23's full cost-coverage conditions |
| 7 | Impôts différés | The selected PCG commentary discusses an entity that does not recognise deferred tax in its individual accounts; that conditional wording does not establish a universal prohibition or a complete recognition method. This Guide does not compute an individual-account deferred-tax recognition case; obtain a source-backed accounting determination for it. Consolidated accounts remain out of scope |
| 8 | Écarts de conversion (foreign currency receivables and payables) | Restated at the closing rate. Unrealised losses go to écart de conversion actif AND a provision for risks, reduced to the unhedged part of the risk where a hedge exists (PCG art. 420-6); unrealised gains go to écart de conversion passif and are not taken to profit. Foreign currency cash differences go to profit (PCG art. 420-7) |
| 9 | Participation des salariés (employee profit-sharing) | Compulsory where the company has employed at least 50 employees each month without interruption for the last 5 years; see the table below |
| 10 | Congés payés (holiday pay) | Accrue untaken leave with the related social charges |
| 11 | Indemnités de départ à la retraite (retirement benefits) | Commitment or provision under the PCG, following ANC recommendation no. 2013-02 as updated on 5 November 2021 |
| 12 | CVAE (cotisation sur la valeur ajoutée des entreprises) | Accrue the charge for the year at the 2026 rate; the rate rose for 2026; see the table below |

**PCG rules used in the checklist**

| Item | Rule | Note (verbatim) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all rules below | https://www.anc.gouv.fr/files/anc/files/1_Normes_fran%C3%A7aises/recueil/2026/Recueil-PCG-Janvier-2026.pdf |
| Provisions (art. 322-1, subject to its specific exceptions and art. 322-4 reliable measurement) | Obligation to a third party; outflow probable or certain without at least equivalent consideration | "un passif est comptabilisé lorsque l'entité a une obligation à l'égard d'un tiers, et qu'il est probable ou certain que cette obligation provoquera une sortie de ressources" |
| Unrealised FX losses | Provision for risks, only for the part of the risk not hedged (art. 420-6) | "Les pertes de change latentes entraînent à due concurrence la constitution d’une provision pour risques, sous réserve des dispositions particulières de l’article 420-6" |
| Unrealised FX gains | Shown in liabilities | "au passif du bilan pour les différences correspondant à un gain latent" |
| Foreign currency cash (art. 420-7) | Differences go to profit, except hedging | "Les écarts de conversion constatés sont comptabilisés dans le résultat de l’exercice, sauf en cas d’application des dispositions relatives aux opérations de couverture" |
| Deferred tax in individual accounts | Text refers to entities that do not recognise it | "Lorsque l’entité ne comptabilise pas d’impôts différés dans ses comptes individuels" |
| Retirement benefits | ANC recommendation no. 2013-02 | "recommandation ANC n° 2013-02 du 7 novembre 2013 modifiée le 5 novembre 2021" |

**Employee profit-sharing (participation)**

| Item | Rule | Note (verbatim, page checked by its publisher on 21 juillet 2026) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all rules below | https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2141 |
| When it is compulsory | At least 50 employees each month, without interruption, over the last 5 years | "La participation doit être obligatoirement instaurée dans les entreprises qui ont employé sans interruption au moins 50 salariés par mois au cours des 5 dernières années" |
| From when | The first financial year opened after that 5-year period | "Ces entreprises doivent mettre en place la participation au cours du 1 er exercice comptable" |
| Fewer than 50 employees | Optional | "Les entreprises de moins de 50 salariés peuvent choisir de mettre en place la participation" |

**CVAE for 2026**

| Item | Value | Note (verbatim) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all figures below | https://bofip.impots.gouv.fr/bofip/839-PGP.html |
| Turnover at which a business comes within the CVAE at all | EUR 152,500 | "seuil d’assujettissement à la CVAE (152 500 €)" |
| Maximum rate for 2026 (highest turnover band) | 0.28% | "> 50 000 000 € 0,19 % 0,28 %" |

At the highest turnover band, the 2026 ordinary CVAE maximum is 0.28%, compared with the 2025 ordinary maximum of 0.19%. Use the 2026 column for the current accrual; lower turnover bands follow their own formulas. This is a comparison of ordinary rates: BOFiP also records a separate 2025-only complementary contribution of 47.4% of CVAE, so the ordinary-rate comparison does not establish that the total 2025 burden was lower.

## Section 6: Compte de résultat format (P&L)

The Code de commerce (art. R. 123-193, reproduced in the PCG compendium cited in Section 2) sets the order: operating charges and income, financial charges and income, exceptional charges and income, employee profit-sharing and income tax. Working outline of the PCG système de base (by nature). Use the complete current art. 821-2 model for the actual accounts, including its separate disposal, impairment and joint-operation lines and comparative amounts; the outline below preserves the main headings rather than reproducing that complete model:

~~~
PRODUITS D'EXPLOITATION (Operating income)
  Ventes de marchandises
  Production vendue (biens et services)
  Production stockée
  Production immobilisée
  Subventions d'exploitation
  Reprises sur provisions et amortissements
  Autres produits

CHARGES D'EXPLOITATION (Operating expenses)
  Achats de marchandises
  Variation de stocks de marchandises
  Achats de matières premières
  Variation de stocks de matières premières
  Autres achats et charges externes
  Impôts, taxes et versements assimilés
  Salaires et traitements
  Charges sociales
  Dotations aux amortissements
  Dotations aux provisions
  Autres charges

  === RÉSULTAT D'EXPLOITATION ===

PRODUITS FINANCIERS
  Produits de participations
  Produits des autres valeurs mobilières
  Autres intérêts et produits assimilés
  Reprises sur provisions financières
  Différences positives de change

CHARGES FINANCIÈRES
  Dotations aux amortissements et provisions financières
  Intérêts et charges assimilées
  Différences négatives de change

  === RÉSULTAT FINANCIER ===

PRODUITS EXCEPTIONNELS
CHARGES EXCEPTIONNELLES

  === RÉSULTAT EXCEPTIONNEL ===

Participation des salariés
Impôt sur les bénéfices
  === RÉSULTAT NET ===
~~~

What goes in the exceptional result is narrow. PCG art. 513-5 puts there income and charges directly linked to a major and unusual event, but also the prescribed purely fiscal accounting entries, tax-driven accounting-method changes recognised in profit rather than equity, and error corrections except corrections of an entry posted directly to equity. Aid, reimbursements and compensation directly connected with a major and unusual event that compensate operating expenses remain in operating profit. Ordinary activity otherwise stays in the operating or financial result.

| Item | Rule | Note (verbatim) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all rules below | https://www.anc.gouv.fr/files/anc/files/1_Normes_fran%C3%A7aises/recueil/2026/Recueil-PCG-Janvier-2026.pdf |
| Exceptional result (art. 513-5) | Major/unusual events and the express fiscal, method-change and correction branches described above; operating compensation stays in operating profit | "Sont comptabilisés en résultat exceptionnel les produits et les charges directement liés à un événement majeur et inhabituel" |
| P&L order (Code de commerce art. R. 123-193) | Operating, financial, exceptional, profit-sharing, tax | "les charges d'exploitation, les charges financières, les charges exceptionnelles ainsi que la participation des salariés aux fruits de l'exp" |

## Section 7: Bilan format (balance sheet)

Working outline of the PCG système de base. Use the complete current art. 821-1 model for the actual accounts, including subscribed-capital, other-equity, impairment, disposal-related and comparative details where applicable. This outline preserves the main headings:

~~~
ACTIF

Actif immobilisé (Fixed assets)
  Immobilisations incorporelles
    Frais d'établissement
    Frais de développement
    Concessions, brevets, licences
    Fonds commercial
  Immobilisations corporelles
    Terrains
    Constructions
    Installations techniques, matériel
    Autres immobilisations corporelles
    Immobilisations en cours
  Immobilisations financières
    Participations
    Créances rattachées à des participations
    Autres titres immobilisés
    Prêts

Actif circulant (Current assets)
  Stocks et en-cours
  Avances et acomptes versés
  Créances clients et comptes rattachés
  Autres créances
  Valeurs mobilières de placement
  Disponibilités

Comptes de régularisation
  Charges constatées d'avance
  Écarts de conversion actif

-------------------------------------

PASSIF

Capitaux propres (Equity)
  Capital social
  Primes d'émission
  Réserves (légale, statutaires, autres)
  Report à nouveau
  Résultat de l'exercice
  Provisions réglementées

Provisions pour risques et charges

Dettes (Liabilities)
  Emprunts et dettes auprès des établissements de crédit
  Emprunts obligataires
  Avances et acomptes reçus
  Dettes fournisseurs et comptes rattachés
  Dettes fiscales et sociales
  Autres dettes

Comptes de régularisation
  Produits constatés d'avance
  Écarts de conversion passif
~~~

The écarts de conversion lines are added because the PCG requires unrealised exchange losses on foreign currency receivables and payables to be shown as an asset in individual accounts ("sont obligatoirement portés à l’actif du bilan, dans les comptes individuels comme dans les comptes consolidés", PCG compendium cited in Section 2).

## Section 8: Notes to the accounts (annexe)

A micro-enterprise may skip the annexe, unless its activity is managing shareholdings and securities (Section 4), but must still give the post-balance-sheet information under PCG art. 811-7 listed above. In the table, "Exempt" means exemption from that annexe item, not exemption from those continuing disclosures. For small and medium enterprises, the PCG (title VIII, chapter III, articles 831-1 onwards, in the compendium cited in Section 2) gives a table that marks which note applies to each size and to companies under the simplified tax regime. Read that table for the company's own case. The checklist below lists the main notes; it does not replace the PCG table.

**Notes checklist**

| # | Disclosure | Micro | Small and medium |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Accounting principles and methods (PCG art. 831-1 onwards) | Exempt (no annexe) | Check the PCG table |
| 2 | Fixed asset, depreciation and impairment movements (PCG art. 832-1) | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 3 | Maturity of receivables and payables | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 4 | Related-party transactions not concluded on normal market terms (PCG art. 834-1) | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 5 | Off-balance-sheet commitments (PCG art. 836-1 onwards) | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 6 | Employee information (PCG art. 837-1 onwards) | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 7 | Advances, credits and commitments to the management bodies (PCG art. 835-1 onwards) | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 8 | Tax position (PCG art. 833-1 onwards) | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 9 | Provisions detail | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 10 | Financial instruments | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 11 | Equity movements | Exempt | Check the PCG table |
| 12 | Retirement commitments not provided for | Annexe exempt, but post-balance-sheet disclosures under 811-7 still apply | Check the PCG table |
| 13 | Remuneration of management, administration and supervisory bodies, by category (PCG art. 835-2) | Annexe exempt; do not confuse this with the advances/commitments disclosures retained under 811-7 | Apply only where the PCG table requires it; the information may be omitted if it identifies a particular member |

## Section 9: Approval, appropriation and filing

**Approval of the accounts.** In an SA, SARL, EURL and SASU, apply the six-month approval period after the financial year end. In a SAS with multiple shareholders, apply the period fixed in the statutes; the filing overview describes six months as common practice because dividend payment has its separate nine-month period. The overview's joint SAS/SASU wording does not override L. 227-9, which expressly gives a sole shareholder six months. For a SASU where the sole shareholder is a natural person personally acting as president, depositing the duly signed inventory and annual accounts at the RCS within that same period counts as approval. L. 223-31 supplies the corresponding route for an EURL whose sole shareholder is also its sole manager. These are prescribed deposit-as-approval routes, not a general waiver of approval or record requirements. Sources: L. 227-9, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000051322706/2026-05-12 and L. 223-31, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000019291719/2026-10-26. A société civile immobilière (SCI) need not draw up annual accounts unless it has a commercial activity, has opted for corporation tax, is liable to VAT, has a partner subject to corporation tax or to the industrial and commercial profits regime, has a clause in its statutes, or exceeds 2 of the 3 SCI thresholds; even then, filing at the greffe is not compulsory for it (same page).

**Filing.** The legal representative files within 1 month after the approval, or within 2 months after the approval when filing electronically. Online filing is on the guichet des formalités des entreprises, by the director or an agent (for example an expert-comptable or a lawyer), in PDF with each file no larger than 10 Mo, signed with an advanced electronic signature or through FranceConnect+.

**Documents to file.** File the comptes annuels (Section 4), the proposed and voted appropriation of the result, and the CAC report where applicable, including when the medium-company simplified-publication route below is elected. That route changes publication, not the required deposit of the report. For an SARL, L. 232-22 keeps the management report available on request rather than including it in the ordinary filing list. For a société par actions, L. 232-23 starts with a filing duty but excepts companies outside its specified sustainability-reporting and traded-securities categories; their management report remains available on request. A medium-size label alone does not create a management-report filing duty. Consolidated accounts, the group report and the related auditors' reports are added where legally applicable, not merely because a company belongs to a group. Sources: Code de commerce L. 232-21–23, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/id/LEGISCTA000006161292; use the consolidation assessment in Section 4.

**Confidentiality, by size.**
- Micro-enterprise: eligible companies may declare their filed accounts nonpublic. The L. 123-16-2 categories and companies managing shareholdings or securities are excluded. The filing page says the CAC report is then not published either.
- Small enterprise: the confidentiality election covers the compte de résultat, not all annual accounts. The L. 123-16-2 categories and companies belonging to a group within L. 233-16 cannot use this option. This statutory rule controls over the wider wording in the SAS tab of the filing page.
- Medium enterprise: eligible companies may request publication of a simplified bilan and annexe, rather than a confidentiality declaration. The L. 123-16-2 categories and companies belonging to a group within L. 233-16 are excluded. The simplified presentation need not include the CAC report, but must give the statutory notice that it is abridged, where the accounts are filed, the auditor's opinion or inability to give one, and any emphasis of matter. Confidentiality does not prevent access by the authorities and other persons listed by the statute. Source for all three options: Code de commerce L. 232-25, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000038611013/.

**Penalties and court orders**

| Item | Value | Note (verbatim, page checked by its publisher on 11 juin 2025) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all figures below | https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31214 |
| Criminal fine on the director for not filing | EUR 1,500 | "le dirigeant de la société s'expose à une amende pénale de 1 500 €" |
| Fine on a repeat failure | EUR 3,000 | "En cas de récidive, l'amende passe à 3 000 €" |
| Time limit for prosecution | 1 year from the date the accounts were due | "peut être poursuivie pendant un délai de 1 an à compter de la date à laquelle les comptes auraient dû être déposés" |
| Civil order (injonction) | The president of the tribunal de commerce may order filing within one month, often with a daily penalty (astreinte) | "le président du tribunal de commerce peut adresser au dirigeant une injonction de les déposer dans le délai d'un mois" |
| Approval deadline, SA, SARL/EURL and SASU | Within 6 months of the year end; SASU is governed by L. 227-9 | "L’approbation des comptes doit intervenir dans les 6 mois de la clôture de l’exercice" |
| Approval deadline, SAS with multiple shareholders | Apply the statutes; do not extend this to a SASU | "dans un délai librement fixé par les associés" |
| Filing deadline | 1 month after approval; 2 months if electronic | "Dans les 2 mois suivant l'approbation des comptes par l'assemblée ordinaire des actionnaires ou de l’actionnaire unique lorsque le dépôt est fait par voie électronique" |

**Appropriation of the result: the legal reserve**

| Item | Value | Note (verbatim, page checked by its publisher on 10 avril 2024) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all figures below | https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F24024 |
| Transfer to the legal reserve, out of each year's profit after prior losses, at least | 5% | Code de commerce L. 232-10: "sur le bénéfice de l'exercice, diminué, le cas échéant, des pertes antérieures, un prélèvement d'un vingtième au moins" |
| The transfer stops being compulsory when the reserve reaches this share of the share capital | 10% | "Ce prélèvement cesse d'être obligatoire lorsque la réserve légale atteint 10 % du capital social" |

The legal reserve cannot be distributed. Code de commerce L. 232-10 applies this minimum allocation to sociétés à responsabilité limitée and sociétés par actions: use the year's profit after deducting prior losses, and stop the compulsory allocation once the reserve reaches 10% of share capital. Read the statute with the administrative overview: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000051322888/.

## Section 10: Statutory audit (commissaire aux comptes)

**When a CAC is compulsory.** A company must appoint a CAC once it crosses 2 of the 3 thresholds in the table below. The thresholds are the same for the SARL, EURL, SA, SAS, SCA, SNC and SCS: an SA is not audited automatically. The duty does not cover the year in which the thresholds are first crossed; it starts with the following financial year. A company no longer needs a CAC once it has stayed below the thresholds at the close of the 2 financial years before the mandate expires. A CAC in office stays for the whole mandate even if the company falls below the thresholds soon after the appointment, and the mandates running on 1 March 2024 continue until they expire (A17100). Entities that must prepare consolidated accounts appoint 2 independent CACs. The page covers companies only, not associations and foundations.

**Auditor thresholds and sanctions**

| Item | Value | Note (verbatim, page checked by its publisher on 10 avril 2025) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all figures below | https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31440 |
| Independent company, and parent of a small group: balance sheet total | EUR 5,000,000 | "5 000 000 € de total bilan" |
| Independent company, and parent of a small group: turnover excluding VAT | EUR 10,000,000 | "10 000 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT" |
| Independent company, and parent of a small group: employees | 50 employees | "10 000 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT 50 salariés" |
| Company controlled by the parent of a small group: balance sheet total | EUR 2,500,000 | "2 500 000 € de total bilan" |
| Company controlled by the parent of a small group: turnover excluding VAT | EUR 5,000,000 | "5 000 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT 25 salariés" |
| Company controlled by the parent of a small group: employees | 25 employees | "5 000 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT 25 salariés" |
| Société civile with an economic activity: balance sheet total | EUR 1,550,000 | "1 550 000 € de total bilan" |
| Société civile with an economic activity: turnover excluding VAT | EUR 3,100,000 | "3 100 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT 50 salariés" |
| Société civile with an economic activity: employees | 50 employees | "3 100 000 € de chiffre d'affaires HT 50 salariés" |
| How many thresholds | 2 of 3 crossed | "dès lors que 2 des 3 seuils suivants sont franchis" |
| Mandate length | 6 years, renewable; 3 years for a voluntary appointment | "6 ans renouvelable ou 3 ans en cas de désignation volontaire" |
| Not appointing a CAC when compulsory | 2 years' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 30,000 | "passible d'un emprisonnement de 2 ans et d'une amende de 30 000 €" |
| Partners' request to a judge below the thresholds (SARL, SA, SAS, SCA) | One or more partners holding at least 10% of the capital; the judge may refuse | "un ou plusieurs associés représentant au moins 10 % du capital peuvent demander au juge la nomination d'un CAC" |

The parent-of-a-small-group row excludes public-interest entities and entities that must publish consolidated accounts. A voluntary appointment may also be decided by partners holding at least one third of the capital. In an SNC or an SCS a single partner may ask the judge.

**Auditor qualification.** Only a commissaire aux comptes may sign the audit report. The live list of CACs and their professional body should be checked on the profession's own register; this skill does not cite it.

## Section 11: The corporation tax return that goes with the accounts

**Corporation tax return (impôt sur les sociétés)**

| Item | Rule | Note (verbatim, page checked by its publisher on 17 février 2026) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Source | all rules below | https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F23575 |
| Return, simplified regime | Déclaration n° 2065 with the liasse fiscale, tables 2033 A to 2033 G | "Déclaration de résultat n° 2065 Liasse fiscale (tableaux n° 2033 A à 2033 G)" |
| Return, normal regime | Déclaration n° 2065 with the liasse fiscale, tables 2050 to 2059 | "Déclaration de résultat n° 2065 Liasse fiscale (tableaux n° 2050 à 2059)" |
| Deadline, year not ending on 31 December | Three-month statutory baseline, plus the published 15-calendar-day electronic extension. A 30 June 2026 close gives a 30 September baseline and 15 October 2026 extended deadline | "La déclaration de résultat doit être souscrite, en principe, dans les 3 mois de la clôture de l’exercice"; "L'administration fiscale accorde un délai supplémentaire de 15 jours calendaires" |
| Deadline, year ending on 31 December | The 2nd working day after 1 May, plus 15 calendar days for electronic filing | "L'administration fiscale accorde un délai supplémentaire de 15 jours calendaires" |
| Year closed on 31 December 2025 | 20 May 2026 | "Exercice clos le 31/12/2025 Au plus tard le 2 e jour ouvré suivant le 1 er mai 20/05/2026 (compte tenu du délai de 15 jours supp.)" |
| Filing channel | Electronic only. Simplified regime: EFI on the professional space, or EDI through an agent. Normal regime: EDI-TDFC through an EDI partner only | "La société doit obligatoirement réaliser sa déclaration par voie électronique en mode EDI-TDFC" |

## Sources

- Accounting obligations of a commercial company, size categories, simplified regime, record keeping: https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F37169
- Filing the annual accounts, approval deadlines, confidentiality, penalties: https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31214
- Statutory auditor: https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F31440
- Equity, reserves and the legal reserve: https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F24024
- New size thresholds from 2024 (news item of 5 March 2024): https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/actualites/A17100
- Management report exemption for micro-enterprises (news item of 14 May 2025): https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/actualites/A18259
- Corporation tax return and deadlines: https://entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr/vosdroits/F23575
- Employee profit-sharing: https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F2141
- CVAE rates and thresholds (BOFiP): https://bofip.impots.gouv.fr/bofip/839-PGP.html
- PCG and French accounting standards, consolidated compendium of 1 January 2026 (ANC): https://www.anc.gouv.fr/files/anc/files/1_Normes_fran%C3%A7aises/recueil/2026/Recueil-PCG-Janvier-2026.pdf
- Selected repair reads, 31 October 2026: Code de commerce L232-23 deposit and L232-25 simplified publication are distinct; the published F23575 electronic extension also follows the ordinary non-December three-month baseline. Literal quotations/conditions and source representation are recorded in the figure ledger; the existing simplified-publication notice and 20 May 2026 example remain unchanged.

## Disclaimer

This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional before filing or acting upon.

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-10-31. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `france-financial-statements` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/france-financial-statements. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.