Setting up means of control in a nonlimited environment: Censors, auditors, comptrollers and inspectors of authorized companies (1807-1867)

The Code de Commerce of 1807 introduced a new legal form for business firms: limited companies (Societe anonyme) that should be authorized by the government. While there was no legal requirement, 36% of these SA introduced auditing process through their articles of association. This paper displays an overview of control modes, from a limited review of accounts 15 days before the general meeting to a permanent task with very extended means of research. It also highlights a process of homogenization in the organisational field of authorized limited companies leading to the 1863 and 1867 Acts that made compulsory the appointment of an auditor in all limited companies. Then it tries to understand why these authorized companies introduced auditing in a legal free environment. Reproduced by permission of Bibliothèque de Sciences Po