UK auditors will now be able to work more easily in Switzerland and vice versa, following an agreement for the mutual recognition of qualifications signed by both countries. 

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and Swiss Federal Audit Oversight Authority (FAOA) made the arrangements, providing a process for auditors with professional audit qualifications and registration as a statutory auditor to apply for recognition of their qualification and audit rights in the other country. The FRC assessed the Swiss statutory audit qualification as equivalent to UK statutory audit qualifications to enable this.

This assessment was possible through funding from the Department for Business and Trade under the Recognition Arrangements Grant Programme. The UK government aims to encourage UK regulators and professional bodies in all sectors to agree recognition arrangements with their international counterparts through the support offered via the programme.

“Like the UK, Switzerland has an influential financial services sector and a high number of skilled auditors,” says Sarah Rapson, FRC’s Executive Director of Supervision. “The mutual recognition arrangement is a positive boost for the UK’s audit market and will further strengthen the close financial ties enjoyed between the UK and Switzerland.”

The FRC prioritised the discussions with Switzerland due to this economic focus on financial services and large audit market. An umbrella agreement on Recognition of Professional Qualifications between Switzerland and the UK was signed in June 2023 and comes into force in 2025.

The arrangement will come as welcome news for the UK’s services sector, says Kevin Hollinrake, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, “providing British auditors with the tools to help them compete for more contracts in Switzerland and export their top-notch services abroad. As a fellow services superpower, making trade in services easier will not only boost UK services exports, but will also encourage new Swiss investment into the UK.”

Nigel Sleigh-Johnson, Director, Corporate Reporting, Audit and Insurance, ICAEW, says: “This is a welcome development. We are in conversation with the FRC about the detail.”