Louis Rachou et René Georges-Étienne, Codes des comptables, 3e édition, réédition commentée par G. Heem et L. Marco

The first practical guide to the regulations governing the leasing of accounting services was published in 1899 by business lawyer Louis Rachou under the enticing title Code des comptables. This edition was a great success, with the Ministry of Commerce purchasing several hundred copies. A second edition appeared in 1908, again written by the legal advisor to the Société Académique de Comptabilité. By the mid-1930s, however, the text had become outdated and out of date. That's why our author enlisted the services of another business lawyer specializing in private accountancy: René Georges-Etienne. This edition, re-examined, corrected and enlarged, underwent a final revision in 1939, again under the direction of Louis Rachou's favorite collaborator. Thus, for 40 years, this was the reference work of the French accounting profession. It is the third edition of 1934 that we offer in this annotated reprint, as this volume has disappeared from the main public libraries in our country. By taking stock of the legal regulations governing accounting firms, the self-employed and even itinerant accountants, this work is the precursor of today's professional ethics manuals. As such, it deserves to be reread and meditated upon to understand how accountants took the reins of their profession at the time of the great economic crisis of the 1930s.