If a Swiss resident decides to become self-employed and set themselves up as a sole trader there are a number of processes to go through to achieve the status of being self-employed. We regularly assist individuals in becoming self-employed and being registered in the Geneva Commercial Register as being sole traders. This covers both advice to individuals concerning the alternative economic structures that can be registered as well as the tax consequences of the registration. We also advise individuals on how best to set up their accounting records to minimise the work required to have accounts at the year end. This is an important step as a local lawyer found out – the accounts were required to be filed with her tax declaration and as they had been set up correctly by us she had minimal work to file her accounts with her tax declaration.

A London entrepreneur specialising in design and presentations contacted us as she was having problems with the payment of her invoices from a contract with a Swiss company. The entrepreneur was having problems with the credit collection process in Switzerland and her lack of French was hampering her progress. She contacted Dryden ICS to assist her with the credit collection process. On her behalf we raised the relevant notification letters and ensured they complied with Swiss law so they could be acted upon. We subsequently prepared the payment order documents and worked with the local authorities to register the claim and the payment process. As a result of our work the company agreed to settle all outstanding invoices and payments were made to the entrepreneur who was delighted with our assistance.

A US oil exploration company decided to create a Swiss charitable foundation to distribute grants to educational and health care organisations funded by revenues generated from oil finds. Dryden staff assisted with the preparation of the statutes for the foundation and its registration with the Geneva Commercial Register. As there were no staff active at the time of stat up, Dryden staff acted as local resident managers (in Switzerland it is a requirement to have a Swiss resident representative) and the foundation was initially domiciled at the Dryden offices. As the foundation was established for charitable purposes, Dryden tax specialists prepared registered the foundation and then made an application for charitable status with the Geneva tax authorities which was granted rapidly.

A leading Irish engineering company won a contract in Switzerland which required it to register for VAT. The company approached Dryden to handle its VAT responsibilities in Switzerland. In an initial meeting Dryden staff discussed with the company the intricacies of Swiss VAT and the different VAT tax rates borne by Swiss products and services. Each quarter the company sent Dryden extracts from its Dublin held project accounting records along with copies of the projects sales and purchase invoices. Dryden completed the quarterly VAT return and submitted it to the Berne VAT office whilst advising the company how much it owed the tax office. When the contract ended Dryden completed the forms for VAT deregistration and the VAT office transferred into the engineering company’s bank account the monetary guarantee it had been holding since incorporation. During the mandate Dryden answered the engineering company’s queries regarding the VAT rates recorded on French language supplier invoices. When the company was raising individual invoices Dryden was also able to advise on the output rates that had to be levied on particular invoices when the client was in doubt.

As soon as Dryden had assisted an executive search company to incorporate in Geneva, the company asked Dryden to assist in its registration with the cantonal tax authorities. Due to problems with mail delivery, we were asked to resolve this problem. This required Dryden completing the necessary forms for the tax authorities to recognise Dryden as ‘mandataires’, following which all tax correspondence was automatically sent to Dryden’s offices. In the case of this executive search company Dryden was able to advise, for tax purposes, on the optimal debt-equity mix and inter Group funding of the Geneva company. Dryden followed up on its advice ensuring the various loan agreements were tax compliant. Although Swiss taxation law only requires that the financial statements approved in the company’s AGM are attached to the tax return, if they are in English, we always provide a translation into French of the English Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet statements, since tax inspectors are only required to work in one of the 3 official languages of the Swiss Confederation. We calculate the tax owed by its client and provides the client with a full reconciliation back to the original tax declaration to verify the tax department’s calculations. Unlike in many countries the window for contesting a tax assessment is very narrow, only 30 days. Dryden will contest any incorrect assessments made by the tax office and keep the client fully informed during this process.

A leading UK law firm, when it opened its Geneva Office, needed an accounting firm which could deal with various payroll issues that arose because the law firm had a mixture of staff on local terms and conditions and seconded arrangements. This firm chose Dryden because they needed experts in both Swiss and UK personal taxation; national insurance and pension systems and so could easily handle the expat allowances, pension and NI payroll implications for lawyers on secondment and explain the differences between the two countries’ systems. Dryden staff were able to talk them through the features of the Swiss payroll system they use, which is widely considered to be the one of the most effective payroll systems in the Suisse Romande area. Dryden was also able to incorporate sterling salaries in the monthly payroll using Swiss Central Bank central bank monthly exchange rates. Dryden has helped the company and their staff optimise their tax payments by advising them concerning the use of representation and other allowances. Dryden’s staff all speak French which is essential when communicating with the Swiss tax and social security departments.

A leading UK firm of Independent Financial Advisors required at very short notice an audit of its Swiss Sàrl’s financial statements. Dryden carried out its audit in accordance with the Swiss Standard on a Limited Stautory Examination. In Switzerland there are different classes of audits depending upon the size of the company based on turnover, gross assets and number of staff.

A well-known trading company’s accounting system and reporting was set up for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), but they also needed an accounting firm that were experts in Swiss accounting standards and could prepare the company’s annual Financial Statements in accordance with Swiss GAAP. They chose Dryden because they could see that Dryden had at its ‘fingertips’ the differences in accounting treatments between IFRS and Swiss GAAP and also knew the disclosures that would be required under the Swiss Code des Obligations. Dryden’s accountants were able to take, interalia, the complex IAS32 and pension notes in the IFRS accounts and translate them into SWISS GAAP. Swiss GAAP reporting requirements are less onerous than those of IFRS. Many clients welcome the easy to read Financial Statements that Dryden prepares under Swiss GAAP.

A leading Swiss registered association whose members include some of the world’s leading food and agribusiness multinationals was dissatisfied with the accounting service provided by its previous service provider. The time the Association’s management had to spend monitoring the fiduciaire was impacting the time devoted to the core activity of running the Association. The Association was looking for a ‘one-stop shop’ provider for its membership fee process, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, general ledger, financial statement preparation (English and French language) and Swiss tax declaration. Dryden prepares and sends out the Association’s annual membership fee invoices and is responsible for supervising the accounts receivable process to the point where management may need to be involved when there are late payment issues. Supplier invoices are sent directly to Dryden which maintains the accounts payable ledger and prepares the documentation for all payments. Dryden contributes to the Association’s annual budgeting process and prepares quarterly reports for the Association’s management and Treasurer, comparing Year to Date Actuals to Budget. Dryden prepares the annual Financial Statements for the AGM at which there are senior management from the member companies present as well as preparing the audit documentation and files for the external auditor.

A leading UK professional service provider considered that the management of its Swiss branch would take greater ownership and responsibility for their financial results if the accounting was done locally in Geneva rather than by Group in London. Geneva’s management also dealt with highly confidential client affairs and did not want accounting source documentation to leave their offices. Dryden therefore visit the client’s offices monthly to provide accounting services on Dryden’s own accounting systems.

A typical client who comes to see us for assistance with filing their tax declarations is an international expatriate manager who has worked in several different jurisdictions and who has property and assets in multiple locations. Some of our clients are even resident in more than one jurisdiction, being resident in Switzerland and perhaps the UK at the same time. One typical example was a recent new client who was a UK citizen who had previously worked in the US and had property in the US and being a holder of a green card was still required to file in the US. He also had worked, prior to coming to Switzerland, in the UK where he had received share options and had a property. His major concern when he came to see us was that his affairs were properly coordinated so that not only did he comply with his local taxation obligations but also avoided suffering being taxed multiple times. We worked with the client to ensure his Swiss tax affairs were caught up, as he had received Swiss tax returns for more than one tax year, within the timescale set by the Geneva tax authorities. We also ensured that his tax affairs did not result in a duplicate taxation charge in any other jurisdiction which was a major relief to our satisfied new client.