From the preparation of financial statements to specialized advice on management, tax law or export legislation, the chartered accountant is an indispensable partner for every business. His accounting and financial knowledge is invaluable in understanding the precise workings of your business, its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities.
Did you know that 90% of chartered accountants are self-employed? Many professionals take this gamble during their careers, in order to build up their own portfolio of clients and activities. Would you also like to take the plunge?
Find out everything you need to know before setting up your own business.
The profession ofchartered accountant is strictly regulated by the DEC, the diploma required for registration with theOrdre des Experts-Comptables, and independent practice. To obtain this diploma, it is necessary to follow the following steps:
- Bachelor's degree, DCG (accounting and management diploma)
- Master's degree, DSCG (Diplôme Supérieur de Comptabilité et Gestion)
- Then comes the DEC (Diplôme d'Expertise Comptable) after 8 years of study. The exam consists of a dissertation, a written test on contractual and legal auditing, and another on professional regulations.
Naturally, there are bridges to join the Master's program or the DEC program from other fields directly or indirectly related to public accounting (Master's in Finance, Management, Accounting, etc.).
The chartered accountant carries out 3 main types of assignment.
Firstly, opinion missions, which involve giving their opinion on the regularity and fairness of a company's accounts. In this case, the auditor performs an accounting review or an accounting audit.
He also performs purely accounting tasks in the preparation and consolidation of company accounts, in accordance with the recommendations of the Conseil de l'Ordre.
Finally, he provides consulting services to support business leaders in their decision-making. This may involve advice on the acquisition of a company, the sale of a business, the tax impact of a transaction, optimizing cash flow, and so on.
The smaller the firm, the more versatile its missions. The chartered accountant is also required to visit clients' offices on a regular basis, and works in the field on a daily basis.
There are several legal forms you can use to become an independent chartered accountant:
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EIRL (Entreprise individuelle à responsabilité limitée). As the name suggests, the entrepreneur is only liable for the amount of capital he or she has contributed to the company. His or her personal assets are protected in the event of bad business, and cannot be used to recover any debts.
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EURL (Entreprise universelle à responsabilité limitée). It offers the same advantages as the EIRL, but its manager is considered a self-employed worker. It benefits from a specific social protection scheme, less effective than that of salaried employees.
- The SASU (Société par actions simplifiée unipersonnelle) is particularly flexible. Its day-to-day operation is set out in the articles of association. The Chairman of the SASU is covered by the general social security system.
- Micro-entrepreneur status is particularly easy to set up, manage and wind up. Your social security contributions are calculated on the basis of your gross sales. This is capped at €176,200 for sales and purchases, and €72,500 for services.
If you want to set up a company and bring in one or more partners, we recommend :
- La SARL SARL (limited liability company): Run by a day-to-day manager and an annual general meeting attended by all partners, the company requires at least 2 partners and a minimum share capital of €1. Partners' liability is limited to the amount of their capital contributions to the company. Administrative formalities are simplified, and you can choose your tax regime.
- La SAS SAS: A minimum share capital of €1 is required, and at least two partners are needed to set up a company. An SAS is managed by a Chairman, who may be a natural or legal person. It therefore has a solid Internet organization and simplified governance.
A chartered accountant needs to be rigorous and organized on a daily basis. They must also be attentive to their clients' expectations, and take the right steps to meet them.
He also needs to promote himself in order to build up a portfolio of customers. To do this, he needs to start by building a sober, attractive website, as well as quality business cards.
It's important to create a professional, synthetic presentation summarizing all your services, your target audience and your pricing.
Publicize your contact details as widely as possible on the Internet (online directories, Google My Business, Yellow Pages, etc.), on specialized business platforms and on relevant social networks (LinkedIn in particular).
Finally, there's one detail that's all too often overlooked when it comes to winning the trust of prospective customers: displaying a prestigious head office address. There's no better way to do this than with a domiciliation company!
French law allows companies to separate their registered office from their actual place of business. You can benefit from a prestigious address, located in the best arrondissements of Paris or the main French metropolises. In this way, you'll give your business card a shine and more easily win the trust of all your stakeholders.
Using a domiciliation company can alsoconsiderably lighten your day-to-day workload: telephone secretarial services, daily mail management, administrative, tax and legal formalities, meeting room rental, etc. Last but not least, domiciliation enables you to better target a commune with a low CFE (Contribution Foncière des Entreprises) tax rate. It's a practical way of reducing your tax burden.
With SeDomicilier, you can obtain your certificate of domiciliation in less than 5 minutes, in a 100% online process. What's more, all your services are then available in a personalized, secure virtual office!
Written by our expert Paul LASBARRERES-CANDAU
September 22, 2020
