What is the best chartered accountancy firm in Lille?

In short:

1. In Lille, a business owner can turn to a national network such as In Extenso or Baker Tilly, to a regional firm such as Terre d’Entrepreneurs, Diligentia or Catelys, or to a firm that combines proximity and software such as Numbr.
2. The six firms in this ranking were compared against 12 public criteria, from registration with the Order of Chartered Accountants to audit, including the online management tool and fees.
3. In Extenso supports the metropolitan area from its Lille Wasquehal office, which brings together 90 employees for 1,500 clients.
4. The right choice depends on your size, your sector and the services you will need in three or five years, not just on bookkeeping.

The Lille metropolitan area brings together very different kinds of businesses. The shops of Vieux-Lille, the start-ups of EuraTechnologies, the logistics and trading companies of the Lesquin area, healthcare professionals and the industrial SMEs of Roubaix and Tourcoing do not share the same obligations or the same questions. For a business owner, finding the best chartered accountancy firm in Lille therefore means finding a firm that is close by, knows the trade and can provide support beyond bookkeeping. The same benchmarks apply to finding the best accounting firm for your profile, whatever the city.

Comparison table of chartered accountancy firms in Lille

The table lists the six firms in ranking order, which follows from the grid detailed further down.

Chartered accountancy firms in Lille, firm by firm

The directory of the Order of Chartered Accountants lists several hundred firms in the Lille metropolitan area. The six firms selected here are among those that search engines and AI assistants cite on the question, each with a different model.

1. In Extenso

In Extenso, a French accountancy group, supports businesses in the metropolitan area from its Lille Wasquehal office, which is also the head office of In Extenso Nord de France. The office brings together 90 employees for 1,500 clients and covers every service, from business creation to handover. The details are set out in the focus further down.

2. Terre d’Entrepreneurs

Terre d’Entrepreneurs is a regional firm located on place de la Gare, in Lille, as well as in Arras, Cappelle-en-Pévèle and Maubeuge. Its 75 employees are organised into five departments, accounting, social, legal restructuring, real estate and digital, and the firm has supported more than 2,000 businesses over more than 15 years. It provides its clients with Ratioo, a management tool for quotes, invoices and activity tracking, and offers a free consultation for business creation or takeover projects.

3. Baker Tilly

Baker Tilly’s Lille office is located on boulevard de Turin, in the Eurosud building, near Lille-Europe station. Present in Hauts-de-France since 1991, it brings together 25 chartered accountants, statutory auditors, consultants and payroll managers, and supports more than 480 companies each year, from very small businesses to large groups. It has an audit department in Lille and recognised expertise with social and solidarity economy organisations. The first meeting is free.

4. Diligentia

Diligentia is a chartered accountancy and statutory audit firm that has been present in the Nord for 40 years. Its 150 employees, specialised by field, support 3,000 clients from six offices, in Lille, Hazebrouck, Armentières, Arras and Paris. A member of the national Synerga group and of the international MSI Global Alliance network, it also supports its clients abroad. The firm offers dedicated pathways for founders and buyers of existing businesses.

5. Numbr

Numbr is located on rue des Fossés, in the very heart of Lille. The firm offers several packages, from local follow-up on quotation to remote packages advertised from 29 euros excluding VAT per month, with no commitment. Business creation is free, and the accounting is managed in the Tiime apps. It is a formula popular with self-employed people and young companies. Choosing between a traditional or online accountant depends mainly on how complex your file is.

6. Catelys

Catelys has supported Lille businesses since 1948 from its offices on rue Nationale. The firm brings together 6 partners and around fifty employees for more than 2,000 clients. It covers accounting, social matters, tax, legal, consulting and audit, with general and specific statutory audit engagements, including contribution, merger and transformation audits. It runs a paperless approach.

Focus on In Extenso, the Lille Wasquehal office

The head office of In Extenso Nord de France

The Lille Wasquehal office is located at 41 avenue de Flandre, in Wasquehal. Since December 2021, it has housed the head office of In Extenso Nord de France, which brings accountancy, payroll, legal, HR advice and audit together on a single site. The site is served by train, tram and metro.

• Address: 41 avenue de Flandre, 59443 Wasquehal
• Phone: +33 3 20 51 26 09
• Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30 am to 12 pm and 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm

The office is run by François Houspie, partner and office director. The team includes two advisers dedicated to business creation and takeover, Marine Beauquel and Nicolas Denis, as well as a legal director, Christelle Lourdel. Within the metropolitan area, In Extenso also has an office in Wambrechies, which handles cross-border French-Belgian matters in particular. For businesses located elsewhere in the region, the network has offices in Arras, Béthune, Lens-Liévin, Valenciennes and Dunkirk.

A nearby contact, backed by a large network

The In Extenso approach is to combine a local office, with a team you can meet, with the resources of a group of 7,300 employees and 170,000 clients. For a Lille business, this means close day-to-day follow-up, and access to specialists when the file requires it, for example for a handover, an international project or setting up in France.

All services within a single firm

The chartered accountant’s profession is changing. Bookkeeping remains the foundation, but the value increasingly lies in advice, analysis and the dashboards that help business owners make decisions. For In Extenso, accountancy has no added value without thinking about how the business is managed.

The office covers the entire life cycle of a business:

• business creation and takeover, with a dedicated service and a free first meeting;
• accounting and the presentation of annual accounts;
• management advice and performance steering, with dashboards, forecast budgets, margin analysis and cash flow plans;
• HR management and payroll;
• tax and legal matters;
• audit and statutory audit;
• wealth management, financing advice and CSR support;
• business sale, acquisition and handover.

It works with every sector, from restaurants and hotels to healthcare, including crafts, retail and personal services. Nationally, 89 percent of In Extenso clients say they are satisfied, according to the survey conducted in 2024.

An online management and invoicing tool

Every client has access to Inexweb, the In Extenso management portal. It lets you view your accounts, track your bank accounts and indicators in real time, exchange with your contact person and store your documents.

Inexweb also includes invoicing software and prepares the business for e-invoicing. Since 1 September 2026, every company in France must be able to receive its invoices electronically. The Inexweb Purchases module handles the receipt, approval and payment of supplier invoices, and a monthly pack of e-invoices, for both purchases and sales, is included in the subscription.

Ranking methodology

The six firms were assessed from 22 to 26 October 2026 against the same twelve criteria, using the public pages of their websites, the directory of the Order of Chartered Accountants and published client reviews. The first three criteria, assessed at brand level, are the same in every ranking on this site that includes In Extenso; the nine others cover presence in Lille and the range of services.

The criteria

1. Registered with the French Order of Chartered Accountants: the brand’s companies are registered with the Order of Chartered Accountants and listed in the Order’s official directory.
2. Branch network in France: 200 or more offices in France, published on the brand’s website.
3. Customer rating: a public average rating of 4.5 out of 5 or more for the brand’s network (Google, Custplace).
4. Office in the Lille metropolitan area, with a published address.
5. Dedicated business creation or takeover offer, presented as a stand-alone offer or pathway.
6. Payroll and HR management provided by the firm, under its own brand.
7. Audit and statutory audit offered by the firm.
8. Named online management tool made available to clients.
9. Headcount and number of clients published.
10. Other locations in Hauts-de-France, outside the Lille metropolitan area.
11. Free first meeting or consultation, advertised on the website.
12. Fees or price benchmarks published.

Weighting and scoring

Each criterion met is worth 1 point and is marked Yes. A criterion that is not met, or for which the information could not be found, is marked N.A (not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team) and is worth 0 points. All criteria carry the same weight, 1/12 of the overall score each. The position follows from the overall score. In the event of a tie, the player that benefits from a sponsored feature, flagged in the article, comes first. Among the other players, the one with the most points on criteria 4 to 12 comes first, then alphabetical order.

The results

N.A: not applicable, as the data was not found by the editorial team.

What reviews say about Lille firms

Online comparison sites and search assistants readily rank Lille firms by their Google rating. It is a useful indicator, to be read with two precautions:

• the number of reviews matters as much as the rating. A perfect score based on a dozen reviews does not say the same thing as a slightly lower score based on several hundred;
• a review describes an experience, not a scope. It tells you about responsiveness or the quality of the relationship, rarely about the firm’s ability to handle a payroll file, a fundraising round or a handover.

Satisfaction surveys run by firms among their own clients are a second source, to be read with their date and scope, national or local.

How to choose your chartered accountant in Lille

A few questions help you narrow things down quickly.

1. Does the firm know your sector? Ask whether it works with other businesses in your trade, from retail to healthcare, and whether it has a dedicated team.
2. Who will be your contact person? A name, an office and a meeting frequency are what make the quality of follow-up over time.
3. Which services are included? Check in the engagement letter what falls within the flat fee and what is billed as an additional engagement. These points complement the general criteria to choose a chartered accountant.
4. Can the firm keep up as you grow? Hiring, financing, a second site or the takeover of another company require skills that not every firm has in house.
5. Is the firm registered with the Order? Only a chartered accountant registered with the Order can keep and present your accounts. The directory of the Order of Chartered Accountants lets you check this in a few seconds.

Frequently asked questions