Setting auditing standards: Analysis of a writing process

Abstract

This study investigates the work of actually writing auditing standards in France, a country that has not adopted the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Based on interviews, participant observation, and documentary study, I highlight the adaptation work carried out to develop French standards, with a transposition mechanism that goes far beyond simply translating ISAs. I emphasise the significant impact of legalism and the principle of hierarchy of norms. I also illustrate the writing conventions used to set standards that are clear and understandable for a wide range of stakeholders. My results show that every word counts in standard-setting work, which makes it an iterative process involving experts in standard-setting technique. This study opens the black box of standard-setters' work and offers a new perspective for analysis of standard setting by considering it as a writing process.