ABSTRACT
During the reign of Louis XIV, Colbert carried out a considerable program of legislation. This was to inspire the Napoleonic codes and still imbues French legislation. Among the various laws passed, the Ordinance of 1673 on non-maritime commerce contained the first accounting rules with a national application.
One of the principal members of the Council for the reform of commerce, which prepared the Ordinance, was Jacques Savary. This former merchant played a very important role in its composition, to such an extent that it has been given the name of the “Code Savary”. He followed this with a work entitled le Parfait Négociant (The Complete Merchant), in which he commented on and set out in detail a multitude of regulations related to commercial activity.
A comparison of the accounting requirements of the Ordinance and of the articles of the Commercial Code in force in 1982 brings out many similarities between them [editorial note: the law of 30 April 1983, which accompanied the revision of the national accounting plan in 1982, brought about substantial modifications and important extensions to these requirements].
The rules imposed on traders by the Ordinance were not new. They could be found in the usages and customs of certain towns, notably those which concerned the role of account books as proofs. As a work of legislative unification, the Ordinance extended them to the whole of the country.
