have a significant impact on earnings management. Furthermore, by focusing on France, we study a country which has
made a major change from the stakeholder-oriented French GAAP to the shareholder-oriented IAS/IFRS. In fact, regulatory
changes in France have raised numerous questions concerning the potential effects of mandatory adoption of IAS/IFRS in
an accounting environment that is unaccustomed to the utilization of accounting standards of Anglo-American inspiration.
The accounting system in France is characterized by regulatory rigidity and a legalistic outlook and differs significantly from
the international accounting system that is marked by a conceptual framework that safeguards shareholder interests.