In Switzerland the law distinguishes between an ordinary and a limited audit. Economically significant and listed companies are subject to the ordinary audit, most SMEs to the limited audit; very small companies may, under certain conditions, waive an audit entirely (opting-out). Which variant applies depends on the size and significance of the company.
An audit builds trust: it gives owners, banks, investors and authorities the assurance that the reported figures are reliable, and it surfaces weaknesses in processes or controls early. It is therefore not bureaucracy for its own sake but an instrument of quality assurance. The auditor examines independently and reports to the owners at the general meeting.
The ordinary and limited audit differ in depth and scope: the ordinary audit goes further, also reviews the internal control system and relies on more extensive audit procedures, whereas the limited audit is designed more leanly. In Switzerland both are carried out by licensed auditors who are subject to oversight.
A common confusion concerns the difference between audit and accounting: accounting produces the figures, the audit examines them independently. For reasons of independence the same person may, as a rule, not simultaneously advise or keep the books for and audit the same company. This separation is a precondition for the credibility of the audit opinion.
For groups of companies the audit is also a governance instrument: it ensures that the statements of the individual companies are reliable, comparable and ready for consolidation — a basis for sound decisions at group level. Within HOSCH Holding the participation Planet GmbH, with its fiduciary and advisory competence, ensures the figures are cleanly prepared; the independent audit as such remains clearly separate from this.