2006
As of 30 September 2006 KPMG Switzerland once again achieved excellent results, continuing the success of previous years. Income from all services rose by 9.3 percent to achieve a total of 401.4 million Swiss Francs. Greater competition in the labor market along with changing values and a generation flux among employees are a few of the greatest challenges in the years ahead.
The widespread debate over the issue of risk-adjusted financing costs has spawned KPMG Switzerland's "Financing Benchmark Study 2006." The study on borrowing costs analyses whether there is a statistically provable link between, or rule governing, typical credit benchmarks and the amount of interest paid, and makes some surprising findings.
Business leaders around the world are acutely aware that they must address fraud and fraud-prevention initiatives - whether because regulations require it or their organization's survival depends on it. Yet, implementing a comprehensive and integrated approach to fraud risk management across the enterprise remains a significant challenge, says a new white paper by KPMG International.
According to a new study of KPMG involving 86 nations, a country can gain considerable competitive advantages over its economic rivals due to low corporate tax rates, which are also tied to above-average growth. Switzerland is in 13th position and therefore ranked in the middle of the international field.
On November 7, 2006, KPMG will once again be a "knowledge partner" for the Focus Session series of seminars at the 16th Finance Forum, the most important trade conference of the Swiss financal industry. This year, the seminars will focus on the theme "new markets, new risks, new challenges".
80 percent of companies in Switzerland embarked upon national or international partnerships during the past five years. Whether for the long term or for the duration of a project, contract partnerships are a popular and flexible alternative to equity joint ventures. The latter involve extensive pooling of business activities, and for that reason are less widespread.
KPMG International's Global Telecoms Financial Performance Tracker examines the 2005 financial results of the top 20 telecoms companies by revenue in each of the three main regions of the world. The latest report found that fixed line telecoms companies' revenue growth in Europe is exceeding that of mobile companies for the first time in more than two years. A likely reason for this growth is the accelerating take up of broadband services.
The question of compensation for managers and directors is rarely discussed in the boardroom. Moreover, the managers themselves are often present when the amount of their salary is fixed. As far as compensatory methods and procedures are concerned, equity and stock options are tending to give way to cash compensation.
Consolidation, regulation, new delivery channels and new customer demands are just some of the key forces of change that are shaping the insurance industry, according to a new KPMG International-Economist Intelligence Unit survey of insurers.
KPMG will mit Unterstützung der EPFL die Innovation mit einem Preis von CHF 50'000 ankurbeln. Als ersten Gewinner ermittelte die Jury Christof Faller. Dieser Forscher überzeugte mit seinen Arbeiten im Bereich der digitalen Tonbearbeitung, insbesondere dem MP3 Surround, der verbesserten Version des berühmten Audioformats.
Bettina Bornmann (37) has been appointed Head of Corporate Finance at KPMG Switzerland. She has been a KPMG partner since 2005 and has many years of experience in the financial sector, both in Switzerland and abroad.
KPMG has been accredited since July 2006 to certify time stamp services in accordance with international standards. The laws of Switzerland permit digital archiving of documents. Using a certified time stamp service satisfies the legal requirements in Switzerland and in Europe.
KPMG's Global M&A Predictor, launched today, says that a window of opportunity exists in the next year for some of the world's leading companies to execute strategic deals and push global merger and acquisition (M&A) value levels well beyond the record set in 2000.
KPMG is to work with Geneva and Lausanne universities on their Accounting, Control and Finance Master's Degree course. Starting in the upcoming 2006/2007 winter semester, Pierre Zach will be in charge of the Audit of Financial Institutions module.
A new prize for innovation has been launched - the KPMG Tomorrow's Market Award. Worth CHF 50,000, the award is open to any individual or team from EPFL, and will be handed over to the winners on the occasion of the first Innovation Day, on August 31 next. With this award, EPFL and KPMG also aim to raise region Suisse Romande's attractiveness as a location for industry.
We are pleased to announce that Hélène Béguin (40) has taken over as Head of KPMG Lausanne on July 1, 2006. Named KPMG partner in 2004, she is currently the only woman at the helm of a KPMG office in Switzerland. With over 90 employees the Lausanne office works closely with the other KPMG sites in French-speaking Switzerland (Geneva, Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Delémont).
The KPMG study confirms again that the wave of takeovers in the global private banking and wealth management market is far from over. An increase of 80 percent was recorded worldwide compared to the prior year.
The worldwide trend among multinational corporations towards moving their operations from high tax to low tax regimes has accelerated in the past year, a survey at this year's KPMG international tax conference in Berlin has shown.
The Economist Intelligence Unit interviewed 200 respondents from life and non-life companies, who also cited a lack of attractive targets (54 percent), seller's price expectations (52 percent) and a lack of financial resources (33 percent) as barriers to preventing them from investing more in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The survey, which commissioned KPMG International, also finds some skepticism noted among senior management in the industry as to the added shareholder value of acquisitive growth.
The partnership of KPMG Switzerland elected Giordano Rezzonico (39) to the Board of Directors of KPMG Holding and Orlando Lanfranchi (45) Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of KPMG Holding, with immediate effect.
Commercial law is currently undergoing many changes and revisions. The new publication "Opportunities and Risks" highlights the major legal reforms and assesses their effect on businesses and private individuals.
More than 25 percent of all independent car dealers will drop out of the market within the next ten years. Many are likely to be taken over by larger dealership groups. This is the result of a joint study of KPMG and the University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen, for which about 110 owners and managers of larger car dealerships in Germany and Switzerland were surveyed.
The scale of the challenge is mapped out in research released today by KPMG, which finds that on average 43 percent of the synergy target identified by the purchaser is now included in the purchase price. This means acquirers have to deliver almost half the synergies just to break even, yet nearly two thirds of acquirers failed to realise the full synergy target.
We have the great pleasure to announce that, as from 1st January 2006, Bill Laneville (42) is responsible for the Geneva office of KPMG Switzerland.
Dominique Morel is taking over the responsibility for Corporate Communications at KPMG Switzerland.
Automotive suppliers are paying insufficient consideration to their international location decisions, despite the grave danger which a failed relocation can pose to the health of the overall business.
As concerns deepen for the future of the U.S. automotive sector, European automotive manufacturers may be well advised to learn from the challenges facing their American counterparts, says a survey out today from KPMG International.