Statutory special audits

Balmer-Etienne services

1. Formation and capital increase audit

• Qualified foundations or capital increases by means of
  • Contribution in kind
  • Payment in full by settlement
  • Conversion of equity capital
• Subsequent payment in full
• Special advantages at foundation or increase in capital
• Ordinary and conditional capital increases

2. Capital reduction audit

• Capital reduction with release of funds to the shareholders
• Capital reduction without release of funds (mostly as part of reorganisations)

3. Liquidation

• Audit of liquidation opening balance, interim balance and closing balance
• Audit for premature distribution of assets at dissolution
  

4. Mergers Act

• Merger
• Division
• Conversion
• Transfer of assets
• Audits of public purchase offers

5. Other special audits

• Audit for company relocation to Switzerland
• Audit for company relocation to a Swiss company abroad
• Audit at appreciation to eliminate adverse balance
• Audit of an interim balance for continuation and disposal values
• Audit of non-financial information

6. Special audit

• Audits according to the law on companies limited by shares (CO 697)

In order to guarantee the rights of control of the shareholders, the law on companies limited by shares provides for certain disclosure rights, as the shareholders usually do not have any insights into the activities of the board of directors. The latter reports only periodically and in individual areas. The shareholders are entitled to demand information about the matters of the company from the board of directors at the general assembly. However, the board of directors often refuses the requested disclosure, on the grounds of business secrets, and thus this right to information frequently remains ineffective in practice.

The deployment of a special auditor extends the right to information of the shareholders by taking a central position between the company and the shareholders, thus also strengthening the protection of the minority shareholders.

7. Review of the equal pay analysis

• We have long-term experience in auditing wage equality analyses and can guarantee you efficient processing.

The Federal Act on Gender Equality (Gender Equality Act) aims to facilitate the enforcement of the constitutional claim to the same wages for the same and equivalent work.

The review of the Gender Equality Act led, with its entry into force on 1 July 2020, to the fact that all employers in Switzerland who employed 100 or more employees at the start of the year had to conduct an in-house equal pay analysis with regard to gender between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021. The result of the analysis had to be reviewed by the end of June 2022.

The employees and the shareholders (in listed companies) will have to be informed about the results of the equal pay analysis by the end of June 2023 at the latest.

If the equal pay analysis shows that equal pay is being complied with, no further equal pay analyses need to be conducted. Otherwise the analysis must be repeated after four years.