{"id":7550,"date":"2026-03-10T12:25:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T11:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/?p=7550"},"modified":"2026-11-08T12:26:37","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T11:26:37","slug":"audit-requirements-for-swiss-foundations-no-retroactive-exemption-new-clarification-by-the-federal-commercial-registry-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/2026\/03\/10\/audit-requirements-for-swiss-foundations-no-retroactive-exemption-new-clarification-by-the-federal-commercial-registry-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Audit Requirements for Swiss Foundations: No Retroactive Exemption \u2013 New Clarification by the Federal Commercial Registry Office"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>On 3 March 2026, the Swiss Federal Commercial Registry Office (EHRA) clarified the prohibition of retroactive exemptions from statutory audit requirements for foundations in its Practice Notice 1\/26.<\/p>\n<p>This clarification is particularly relevant to foundation boards, statutory auditors and foundation supervisory authorities. It addresses the question of the financial year from which a foundation may effectively be exempted from the obligation to appoint an auditor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Audit Requirements Apply to Swiss Foundations?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Under Article 83b paragraph 1 of the Swiss Civil Code (SCC), the supreme governing body of a foundation is generally required to appoint an auditor.<\/p>\n<p>The competent supervisory authority may exempt a foundation from this obligation if the statutory requirements are met.<\/p>\n<p>The following principles apply in particular:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An exemption requires a formal decision by the competent foundation supervisory authority.<\/li>\n<li>The substantive requirements are governed by the Ordinance on the Auditors of Foundations.<\/li>\n<li>Where foundation law does not provide specific rules, the statutory audit provisions applicable to companies limited by shares apply by analogy.<\/li>\n<li>A retroactive exemption from statutory audit requirements is not permitted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What Did the Federal Commercial Registry Office Clarify in 2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Since 1 January 2025, companies limited by shares and limited liability companies may generally opt out of a limited statutory audit only for future financial years.<\/p>\n<p>The EHRA has now expressly clarified that this prohibition of retroactive opting-out also applies to foundations by virtue of the reference to company law in Article 83b paragraph 3 SCC.<\/p>\n<p>There is, however, an important difference compared with companies limited by shares:<\/p>\n<p>While a company limited by shares may resolve to waive a limited statutory audit if the statutory conditions are met, a foundation requires a corresponding decision from the competent supervisory authority.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which Date Determines When the Exemption Takes Effect?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The decisive date is when the competent foundation supervisory authority issues its decision granting the exemption.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, the date on which the exemption is filed with the Commercial Register is not decisive for determining whether it has retroactive effect.<\/p>\n<p>The EHRA clarifies that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The supervisory authority must issue its exemption decision during financial year N.<\/li>\n<li>The exemption may take effect no earlier than the following financial year, N+1.<\/li>\n<li>A subsequent exemption for a financial year that has already commenced is not permitted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Example for a Calendar Financial Year<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If the foundation supervisory authority grants an exemption during 2026, it may take effect no earlier than the financial year beginning on 1 January 2027.<\/p>\n<p>The financial statements for 2026 therefore remain subject to the existing statutory audit requirements.<\/p>\n<p>If the exemption decision is issued only in 2027, the exemption may generally take effect no earlier than the 2028 financial year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Must Be Recorded in the Commercial Register?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Under Article 95 paragraph 1 letter l of the Swiss Commercial Register Ordinance (HRegV), since 1 January 2025 the Commercial Register must specify the financial year from which a foundation is exempt from the obligation to appoint an auditor.<\/p>\n<p>Under Article 97 paragraph 1 letter a HRegV, an enforceable decision issued by the competent foundation supervisory authority is sufficient for registration.<\/p>\n<p>The Commercial Register therefore records not only the exemption itself but also the financial year from which it applies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Are the Implications for Foundation Boards and Auditors?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The timing requirements are particularly important when planning an audit exemption or terminating an existing audit engagement.<\/p>\n<p>The following measures are recommended:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Assess at an early stage whether the foundation meets the substantive requirements for an audit exemption.<\/li>\n<li>Submit the exemption application to the competent foundation supervisory authority in good time.<\/li>\n<li>Coordinate the intended effective date of the exemption with the foundation&#8217;s financial year.<\/li>\n<li>Ensure that statutory audits are performed for all financial years for which the exemption is not yet effective.<\/li>\n<li>Verify the Commercial Register entry and the underlying exemption decision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Recommended Actions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Foundation boards should coordinate any planned audit exemption with the competent supervisory authority at an early stage.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, they should consider that an exemption decision can only take effect for a future financial year.<\/p>\n<p>Existing audit engagements should therefore not be terminated solely because an exemption application has been submitted or a favourable decision is expected.<\/p>\n<p>The official communications and statutory provisions issued by the Swiss federal authorities shall prevail.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bj.admin.ch\/de\/praxismitteilungen-ehra\">https:\/\/www.bj.admin.ch\/de\/praxismitteilungen-ehra<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bj.admin.ch\/dam\/bj\/de\/data\/wirtschaft\/handelsregister\/praxismitteilungen\/praxismitteilung-2026-01.pdf.download.pdf\/praxismitteilung-2026-01-d.pdf\">https:\/\/www.bj.admin.ch\/dam\/bj\/de\/data\/wirtschaft\/handelsregister\/praxismitteilungen\/praxismitteilung-2026-01.pdf.download.pdf\/praxismitteilung-2026-01-d.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fedlex.admin.ch\/eli\/cc\/24\/233_245_233\/en\">https:\/\/www.fedlex.admin.ch\/eli\/cc\/24\/233_245_233\/en<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fedlex.admin.ch\/eli\/cc\/2007\/685\/en\">https:\/\/www.fedlex.admin.ch\/eli\/cc\/2007\/685\/en<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<br \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 3 March 2026, the Swiss Federal Commercial Registry Office (EHRA) clarified the prohibition of retroactive exemptions from statutory audit requirements for foundations in its Practice Notice 1\/26. This clarification is particularly relevant to foundation boards, statutory auditors and foundation supervisory authorities. It addresses the question of the financial year from which a foundation may&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[515,146,145,514],"tags":[873,870,889,897,861,865,859,876,901,885,877,892,900,884,891,875,883,899,893,887,895,879,871,880,872,888,869,863,866,857,890,874,898,882,896,855,864,856,881,867,860,858,854,853,902,894,878,862,868,886],"class_list":["post-7550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buchhaltung","category-unkategorisiert","category-corporates-and-foundations","category-wirtschaftspruefung","tag-audit-des-fondations","tag-audit-mandate-termination","tag-auditoria-de-fundaciones","tag-auditoria-de-fundacoes","tag-aufsicht-ueber-gemeinnuetzige-organisationen","tag-charitable-foundation-compliance","tag-compliance-gemeinnuetziger-organisationen","tag-comptabilite-des-fondations","tag-conformidade-regulamentar-das-fundacoes","tag-conformita-normativa-delle-fondazioni","tag-conformite-des-fondations","tag-contabilidad-de-fundaciones","tag-contabilidade-de-fundacoes","tag-contabilita-delle-fondazioni","tag-control-de-entidades-sin-animo-de-lucro","tag-controle-des-organisations-a-but-non-lucratif","tag-controllo-degli-enti-senza-scopo-di-lucro","tag-controlo-de-organizacoes-sem-fins-lucrativos","tag-cumplimiento-normativo-de-fundaciones","tag-derecho-suizo-de-fundaciones","tag-direito-suico-das-fundacoes","tag-diritto-svizzero-delle-fondazioni","tag-droit-suisse-des-fondations","tag-esenzione-dalla-revisione","tag-exemption-de-revision","tag-exencion-de-auditoria","tag-foundation-accounting","tag-foundation-audit-exemption","tag-foundation-governance","tag-gemeinnuetzigkeit","tag-gobernanza-de-fundaciones","tag-gouvernance-des-fondations","tag-governacao-de-fundacoes","tag-governance-delle-fondazioni","tag-isencao-de-auditoria","tag-jahresabschlusspruefung","tag-non-profit-audit","tag-non-profit-organisationen","tag-revisione-delle-fondazioni","tag-statutory-audit-requirements","tag-stiftungsbuchhaltung","tag-stiftungsgovernance","tag-stiftungspruefung","tag-stiftungsrecht-schweiz","tag-supervisao-de-fundacoes","tag-supervision-de-fundaciones","tag-surveillance-des-fondations","tag-swiss-foundation-law","tag-swiss-non-profit-organisations","tag-vigilanza-sulle-fondazioni"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7550"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7552,"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7550\/revisions\/7552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rewisco.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}