Compte rendu

The report stated that ordinary revenues in France were exceeding royal expenditures by over 10 million livres, i.e., that the French ministry was running a massive surplus.

Namely, it did not report the "extraordinary" accounts, where the real cost of the war was to be found and which showed France in a significant deficit—between 1777 and 1781, Necker had raised 520 million livres in new loans.

The Compte rendu was also arguably a factor in causing resistance to attempts in 1787 by then-finance minister Calonne to reform the financial system.

The Assembly of Notables, to whom the reforms were initially proposed, were skeptical of this explanation, possibly as a consequence of the belief that France remained in a strong position from the time of Necker.

[citation needed] After a succession of different finance ministers, Louis XVI later re-appointed Necker in the view that he was in the best position to manage France's growing credit problems.