On 10 May 2019, a large gathering of mourners bade farewell to Professor André Zünd. After obtaining his doctorate from the University of St. Gallen, which was then known as HSG (Business School of St. Gallen), André Zünd worked for some years at various large companies (e.g. at Hoffmann-La Roche as head of internal auditing). In addition, he was part of a delegation that prepared and supported the transition of the then Belgian Congo from a colony to a sovereign state. These experiences were reflected in his seminal post-doctoral thesis. He was later appointed as titular professor and, in 1976, as associate professor for accounting and auditing at the HSG, where he taught until his retirement in 1992. His treatise on auditing, “Revisionslehre”, which was published in 1982, became for many years the work of reference among auditors in Switzerland. During this time, he was closely associated with the national professional organisation (Institute of Certified Accountants and Tax Consultants, now EXPERTsuisse) and represented Switzerland in the specialist committees of the OECD or the United Nations. These experiences encouraged him to initiate, in 1984, the establishment of an independent Swiss institution focused on setting and disseminating accounting and reporting standards (Swiss GAAP FER). Its legal body is the FER Foundation. From 1984 to 1992, André Zünd was the first president of the FER Commission for Financial Reporting Standards, and from 1996 to 2002, he served as the president of the Board of the Foundation. Today, the Swiss GAAP FER recommendations are the most frequently adopted “true and fair view” principles of accounting in Switzerland.

André Zünd’s contributions to the Swiss accounting and reporting standards have also earned him international recognition. He was the first European to be elected vice-president of the American Accounting Association (AAA). In Switzerland, in 1995, he was awarded the Kausch Prize of the University of St. Gallen (jointly with Professor Max Boemle). After retiring from the HSG, André Zünd began studying history at the University of Zurich, thereby completing the circle – as an adolescent he had first envisaged the study of history before opting for the world of business and economics. In 1999, he graduated with the thesis “Failed urban and rural reforms of the 16th and 17th centuries in Switzerland”. His friends began to speculate whether he would also pursue his third field of interest – theology – in academic depth and even with a degree. Published in 2006, his book “Visitation and Controlling in the Church: A Guide to Ecclesiastic Management (Dialogue on Religious Law)” gave the speculators a resounding answer.

André Zünd was a well-regarded and much-appreciated university lecturer whose highly professional attitude sustainably influenced many accountants and auditors. He was also a perspicacious and forward-looking personality who left indelible marks on the accounting and auditing practices of Switzerland. He stayed attuned to current developments right into his old age. His work remains relevant.

Giorgio Behr, Reto Eberle