Subsection 3: Budgetary and accounting system

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Article R232-37

French Sports CodeIn force
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Updated 7 Nov 2023

The accounting officer is required to exercise :

1° In respect of revenue, control of the authorisation to collect revenue and the collection of debts and the regularity of reductions and cancellations of revenue orders, within the limits of the information available to him;

2° In respect of expenditure, checking that the authorising officer or his delegate is in a position to authorise expenditure, that appropriations are available, that expenditure is correctly charged to the relevant chapters according to its nature or purpose, that the debt is valid in accordance with the conditions set out in point 4 and that the payment discharges the debt;

3° With regard to assets, control of the conservation of rights, liens and mortgages and of the conservation of the assets for which it keeps the stock accounts;

4° With regard to the validity of the claim, verifying that the service has been provided, that the calculations used to calculate the amount are correct and that the rules on limitation and forfeiture have been applied.

Where, in the course of his checks, the Accounting Officer finds irregularities or inaccuracies in the certifications issued by the Chairman of the Agency, he shall suspend payment of the expenditure. He shall inform the President thereof.

Where the Accounting Officer has suspended payment of expenditure, the President of the Agency may, in writing and under his responsibility, require the Accounting Officer to pay. The accounting officer shall comply with the requisition and report to the Minister responsible for the budget, who shall forward the requisition order to the Court of Auditors.

By way of derogation from the provisions of the previous paragraph, the accounting officer must refuse to comply with the requisition order when the suspension of payment is motivated by the absence of justification of the service rendered, the non-dischargeable nature of the payment or the lack of available funds.

In such cases, the accounting officer shall immediately report to the Minister responsible for the budget.

Mariela Petrova

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Common Questions

Working with a corporate lawyer in France — Q&A

Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

Avocate au Barreau de Paris

Toque #C2396

15+ Years In Corporate Practice

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Communications protected by professional secrecy — secret professionnel de l'avocat, Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971.

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