Accounting valuation in nineteenth-century French bankruptcies

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to study accounting valuation practices in French bankruptcies following enactment of the Law of 1838. The research is based on a study of 500 files in the archives of the Paris Court of Commerce. After first presenting the main steps in the bankruptcy proceedings, it is shown how the self-interest of the agents – the bankrupt, the receiver, and the creditors – was built up through accounting valuation practices. The outcome of this analysis provides an insight into accounting valuation practices in nineteenth-century France and a better understanding of the self-interest of the agents in bankruptcy proceedings.