Mark Hawkins completed his ICAEW qualification at Arthur Young just as it was merging with Ernst & Whinney in 1989, suddenly finding himself in a much bigger team and with much more opportunities ahead of him. “I was fairly happy where I was, but I did have a yearning to travel abroad and obtain some international experience,” he says. 

While he had his sights set on Australia, an opportunity arose in Switzerland. Signing up to a transfer, he expected to work there for two years before returning to the UK. He is still there, 34 years later. Hawkins currently serves as EY’s Regional Managing Partner in Switzerland while serving several large multinational clients. Moving to Switzerland was a pivotal moment in his career and Hawkins feels that being a UK expat in the country has given him a considerable advantage.

“I speak French, but having English as my native language and an ICAEW education has been a real advantage in Geneva,” he says. “It's helped me stand out and communicate my way to successive promotions, winning in the market and connecting with boards and C-suites of multinational companies.”

The UK and Switzerland have been negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries since 2020, and it is now in its final stages. In December 2023, the two countries signed a financial services deal that allows British and Swiss banks to operate in each country while following the regulatory regimes of their own countries. That was followed by the mutual recognition of certain professional qualifications, which was agreed in February 2024. 

Now, ICAEW members who hold audit-signing rights are permitted to sign-off statutory audits in Switzerland on completion of a simple exam on Swiss law, “It’s very straightforward – I used to teach it,” Hawkins explains. He hopes that this simplified access to the profession will encourage more members to come and work in the country. 

“The big four firms in Switzerland employ a lot of British auditors,” he says. “We’re one of the biggest countries of UK Chartered Accountants expatriated in terms of percentage. It’s a small country, with a population of nearly nine million, so we make up a significant proportion of the profession in Switzerland.”

Hawkins also sits on the Council of the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce. This gives him a good view of the big areas of growth and investment in Switzerland. Alongside the strong professional and financial services sectors, the country is also strong in commodity trading, luxury goods, precision engineering and life sciences. 

“For example, MSC, headquartered in Geneva, is the biggest shipping company in the world, while Switzerland isn’t even connected to the ocean. Geneva hosts Vitol, Trafigura and others among the largest commodity trading companies in the world. Much of this global commerce, whether it’s commodity trading or shipping, is attracted to the country because of the financial services, access to money, political stability and the tax regime. For a small country, we’ve got some very big businesses here, which makes it an exciting home for professional accountants.”

All of this offers a number of opportunities for ICAEW members interested in gaining international experience. “Being trained in an ACA environment in ICAEW and in the Big Four – Big Eight when I started – not only refines your technical skills, but I think it brings a level of business acumen that you don’t get with other qualifications worldwide.”

A high proportion of ICAEW members in Switzerland hold senior positions in audit firms and in businesses, Hawkins explains. He mentions Geraldine Matchett, who is now on the audit committee of Nestlé and was previously Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer at DSM-Firmenich AG.

“She is a great role model and is now sitting on the board of multinationals. Geraldine is a prominent example of how well ACA-qualified accountants can do. When we recruit Brits, the probability they make it all the way up to the top and become a partner is much stronger, thanks to the strength of the qualification and the advantages of language.”

ICAEW anticipates full guidance on the mutual recognition of auditors in the UK and Switzerland to be published by the Financial Reporting Council this year.