{"id":3015,"date":"2026-11-11T15:42:24","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meng-partner.ch\/news\/expert-info-issue-3-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-11-11T15:42:28","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:42:28","slug":"expert-info-issue-3-2026","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.meng-partner.ch\/en\/news\/expert-info-issue-3-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Expert Info | Issue 3 | 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">As a member company of EXPERTsuisse, we are committed to the highest professional and quality principles as well as continuous further training. With EXPERT INFO, we bring you closer to important current topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1\" style=\"color:#004d82\"><strong>Added value of the annual audit \u2013 more than a legal obligation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Switzerland, all corporations are generally subject to an audit. Smaller companies are usually subject to a&nbsp;<strong>limited audit<\/strong>, larger companies to an&nbsp;<strong>ordinary audit<\/strong>. The audit is often perceived as an obligation and a cost factor \u2013 but its actual benefit goes much further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How the company benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>an <strong>independent assessment<\/strong> of the accounting and internal controls \u2013 including risks and potential for improvement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a <strong>sparring partner<\/strong> for the board of directors and management on accounting and reporting questions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>reliable financial information<\/strong> as a basis for investments, financing or dividend distributions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An audit report increases the&nbsp;<strong>credibility of the annual financial statements<\/strong>&nbsp;and builds trust with banks, investors, suppliers and customers. Audited companies often find it easier to access debt and equity capital and generally benefit from&nbsp;<strong>more favourable financing conditions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2\" style=\"color:#004d82\"><strong>False self-employment \u2013 a risk when working with freelancers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Working with freelancers offers a high degree of flexibility, but carries the risk of&nbsp;<strong>false self-employment<\/strong>: a supposedly self-employed freelancer may be classified as employed for social security purposes and as an employee under civil law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What matters is&nbsp;<strong>not the name of the contract, but how the collaboration actually works<\/strong>. Indications of integration into the company include, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>use of the company&#8217;s work equipment and free access to its premises<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>fixed working hours and the obligation to perform the work personally<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>appearing on the company website or having a company e-mail address<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">None of these characteristics is decisive on its own \u2013 what counts is an overall assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the compensation fund classifies the activity as employment,&nbsp;<strong>social security contributions may be owed retroactively<\/strong>. If there is also an employment relationship under labour law, further claims may arise, for example for continued payment of wages, holiday pay or overtime. An&nbsp;<strong>AHV registration confirmation<\/strong>&nbsp;of the freelancer does not rule out this risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recommendation: check how the freelancer will actually be deployed before concluding the contract \u2013 the contract and actual practice must match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3\" style=\"color:#004d82\"><strong>New AMLA due diligence obligations \u2013 what clients need to know<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The revised provisions on combating money laundering and terrorist financing came into force on&nbsp;<strong>1 October 2026<\/strong>. Certain&nbsp;<strong>advisory services<\/strong>&nbsp;are now also subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) \u2013 in particular in connection with certain real estate transactions, company formations and structures, and the provision of domiciles. This can affect fiduciaries, tax advisors, lawyers, notaries and other advisors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For clients, this means that for certain mandates the advisor must&nbsp;<strong>obtain and document more information<\/strong>&nbsp;than before, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>identification<\/strong> with a valid ID document, for companies also documents on the company<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>details of the <strong>beneficial owner<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the <strong>subject and purpose<\/strong> of the planned transaction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>in-depth clarifications<\/strong> for complex structures, foreign connections or politically exposed persons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These questions are&nbsp;<strong>not a sign of mistrust<\/strong>, but legal requirements. If relevant circumstances change \u2013 such as the beneficial owner \u2013 the advisor should be informed as early as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4\" style=\"color:#004d82\"><strong>Lex Koller \u2013 planned tightening of real estate acquisitions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u00abLex Koller\u00bb (Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad) restricts the purchase of real estate by persons abroad. The Federal Council plans to&nbsp;<strong>tighten<\/strong>&nbsp;it and sent a preliminary draft for consultation in April 2026. The consultation has ended \u2013&nbsp;<strong>nothing has been decided yet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The most important proposed changes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Main residence:<\/strong> third-country nationals living in Switzerland without a C settlement permit would need a permit in future.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Commercial properties:<\/strong> permit-free only if used for one&#8217;s own business activity \u2013 pure investments would become considerably more difficult.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Holiday homes:<\/strong> resales between persons abroad would also count towards the cantonal quota; the quotas are to be reduced.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Indirect investments:<\/strong> listed shares in residential real estate companies and units in real estate funds and real estate SICAVs would become subject to the Lex Koller.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyone wishing to invest in Swiss real estate as a foreign private individual or through a foreign-controlled company should&nbsp;<strong>check at an early stage<\/strong>&nbsp;whether the Lex Koller applies to their project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Read the entire article in the latest issue of EXPERT INFO<\/strong> <strong>in the downloads section<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#004d82\">Further detailed information on the topics<br><strong>added value of the annual audit<\/strong>, <strong>false self-employment<\/strong>, <strong>new AMLA due diligence obligations<\/strong> and the <strong>planned amendment to the Lex Koller<\/strong> can be found in <strong>EXPERT INFO | Issue 3 | 2026<\/strong> in the download section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1979,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"class_list":["post-3015","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meng-partner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meng-partner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meng-partner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meng-partner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meng-partner.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}