French Vocabulary: Accounting 📊💼

If you study business, work in finance, or plan to manage a company in a French-speaking country, learning the right French accounting vocabulary is essential.

From invoices and bookkeeping to balance sheets and audits, these terms will help you communicate professionally and understand financial documents in French.

This guide covers the most useful French accounting words with English translations and examples.

---

🧾 Basic Accounting Vocabulary

• La comptabilité – accounting

• Un comptable – accountant

• La tenue des comptes – bookkeeping

• Les finances – finances

• Un audit – audit

• Les normes comptables – accounting standards

👉 Example: Elle travaille dans la comptabilité depuis dix ans.
(She has worked in accounting for ten years.)

---

💰 Income, Expenses & Transactions

• Un revenu – income

• Une dépense – expense

• Les charges – expenses / costs

• Un coût – cost

• Un paiement – payment

• Une recette – revenue (in accounting)

• Une facture – invoice

• Un reçu – receipt

• Une note de frais – expense report

👉 Example: L’entreprise doit réduire ses dépenses.
(The company must reduce its expenses.)

---

📑 Accounting Documents

• Un bilan comptable – balance sheet

• Un compte de résultat – income statement / profit & loss statement

• Un grand livre – general ledger

• Un journal comptable – accounting journal

• Un plan comptable – chart of accounts

👉 Example: Le bilan comptable montre la situation financière de l’entreprise.
(The balance sheet shows the company’s financial situation.)

---

📊 Assets, Liabilities & Equity

• Un actif – asset

• Un passif – liability

• Les capitaux propres – equity

• Les immobilisations – fixed assets

• Les stocks – inventory

• Les créances – receivables

• Les dettes – debts

👉 Example: Les dettes de l’entreprise figurent au passif du bilan.
(The company’s debts appear under liabilities on the balance sheet.)

---

🏦 Taxes & Regulations

• L’impôt – tax

• Les impôts sur les sociétés – corporate tax

• La TVA (Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée) – VAT (Value Added Tax)

• Une déclaration fiscale – tax return

• Un contrôle fiscal – tax audit

👉 Example: Toutes les entreprises doivent payer la TVA.
(All businesses must pay VAT.)

---

💬 Useful Phrases

• Je dois envoyer les factures au comptable. – I must send the invoices to the accountant.

• Le bilan annuel est prêt. – The annual balance sheet is ready.

• Cette dépense doit être enregistrée dans le journal comptable. – This expense must be recorded in the accounting journal.

• Nous avons un contrôle fiscal la semaine prochaine. – We have a tax audit next week.

---

🎯 Practice Activity

👉 Write 3 short sentences in French using accounting terms. For example:

• Le comptable prépare le compte de résultat.

• L’entreprise a beaucoup d’actifs mais aussi des dettes.

• J’ai payé la facture hier.

---

✅ Conclusion

By learning this French accounting vocabulary list, you’ll be able to understand financial reports, work with accountants, and manage business transactions in French.

These terms are essential for professionals and students in finance, business, and economics.

If you found this useful, explore more of our French business vocabulary lists to keep improving your professional French!