Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on circumvolutions taken by the accounting standard-setting process in French-speaking African countries which have delayed convergence toward IFRS standards and to identify how different factors shape accounting standards in a context in which post-colonial hysteresis interact with globalization. Design/methodology/approach This study uses archival data and interviews with key individual actors. Two case studies from two successive periods are contrasted: the design of the OCAM accounting standards in the 1970s, and the development of the SYSCOA/OHADA accounting standards during the 1990s before the partial adoption of IFRS. Findings The study shows the convergence toward international accounting standards in French-speaking African countries emerged from a complex, multimodal process mingling competition with collaboration and negotiation. They have followed a different path from most English-speaking African countries, where convergence to IAS/IFRS took place earlier and faster. The evidence indicates the significance of the interaction between the ex-colonization and the indigenous accounting standards, the importance of key actors and the level of the educational institutions. Research limitations/implications No African written sources were located. Most of the sources used were French. Practical implications The paper includes implications for the standards setting in developing countries. The examination of the development of accounting rules in French-speaking African countries between 1960 and 2010 shows the complexity of the accounting standards’ diffusion dynamic. Originality/value This study provides novel insights over a 30-year period of accounting standards in French-speaking African countries. This research explains why IFRS have not yet adopted in French-speaking African countries as it was in English-speaking African countries.

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