Project description
Swiss GAAP FER 16 has been in force since 2006 and was last revised in 2010. On November 30, 2021, the Expert Committee of the FER Foundation commissioned the Expert Committee to subject Swiss GAAP FER 16 “Pension Liabilities” to a review procedure. The review was successfully completed on June 21, 2023. At the same meeting, the Expert Committee commissioned the working group headed by Dr. Silvan Loser to revise the technical recommendation.Translation
Current project status
Based on an extensive analysis of the annual reports of listed companies applying Swiss GAAP FER, the working group identified several focal points for the revision of the professional recommendation within the framework of the ASC. On the one hand, the treatment of foreign pension plans is to be better addressed and, on the other hand, the disclosures on Swiss pension plans are to be subjected to a critical review. In addition to a selective expansion of the disclosure requirements, a partial streamlining is also envisaged. Optimization potential has also been identified in the complex table of notes, which is difficult to prepare and interpret in practice. The working group is currently preparing a first draft of the revised recommendation.
Reasons for the review
Currently, the treatment of foreign pension plans is not specifically regulated. Since many FER users have subsidiaries abroad, this regularly leads to questions in practice. Furthermore, there are only rudimentary requirements for disclosure, especially with regard to the often essential Swiss plans.
Composition of the working group
The seven-member working group is chaired by Dr. Silvan Loser, a member of the FER Foundation’s technical committee, and covers all relevant stakeholder groups. Thus, in addition to technical experts, auditors, ARR users, the stock exchange and the authorities are also represented.
- Simon Bayer, Stadler Rail, Representative user
- Stefan Haag, PwC, Representative of the Accounting Commission True and Fair View, EXPERTsuisse
- Reto Leibundgut, c-alm, Representative actuaries/pension fund experts
- Silvan Loser, KPMG,Head subcommission FER 16
- Erich Meier, KPMG, Representative of the Commission for Occupational Pension Plans (BVG), EXPERTsuisse
- Philipp Rohrbach, Representative Federal Social Insurance Office
- Stefan Suter, Representative SIX Exchange Regulation
Please address any questions to Dr. Silvan Loser, member of the technical committee/project manager “Swiss GAAP FER 16 – Pension liabilities”, Tigerbergstrasse 9, CH-9000 St. Gallen, e-mail: fachsekretaer@fer.ch.