Les processus de normalisation comptable : un exemple de droit postmoderne

In 2000, the core set of international accounting standards developped by the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) has been approved by the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), following a deep restructuring of the IASC. Henceforward, such standards will be used in cross border capital raising and listing purposes in all global markets. At the same time, the European Union has decided that the international accounting standards (IAS) will be obligatory in 2005 at the latest. What changes do these decisions introduce in the accounting standards setting process ? This paper argues that international accounting regulation is an example of post-modern law or regulation, in three main aspects : first, the international standards setting process implies renouncing the hierarchical legitimization principle that used to ground european accounting harmonisation, for instance ; second, it is a complex and flexible mechanism of standards production and articulation; finally, the international accounting stan~dards are developped by a multi-representative structure, according to an open due~process that mainly relies on technical competence. However, such a process needs to be completed by strong enforcement mechanisms.