This annual financial statement has been prepared in accordance with the Swiss GAAP FER 21 financial reporting guidelines for charitable and social non-profit organisations.
For the statement of accounts, according to FER 21, it is important to report the year-end result after changes in funds. Donations are assigned directly to the fund. The earmarked or non-earmarked donations thus contained in the fund will then be used in accordance with their original purpose, or Swisscontact’s task to finance project activities. This may be done during the year the donations are allocated, or else in subsequent reporting years.
The cost structure and apportionment of administrative expenses, administrative programme expenses, and direct programme expenses comply with the ZEWO Foundation guidelines.
Important benchmarks and figures
Compared with the previous year, project volume grew by 14.1% (from kCHF 76,200 to kCH 86,937). Donations and contributions (donations tied to specific tasks) amounted to kCHF 6,751, roughly the same as the previous year with kCHF 6,728. In addition to donations and contributions from private and institutional donors and tied to projects, the fund for non-earmarked contributions grew by kCHF 115.
Fundraising expenses for 2016 were kCHF 988 (previous year: kCHF 1,023). This represents 1.2% of total expenses (previous year: 1.3%).
Swisscontact always tries to optimise the efficiency and effectiveness of its procedures in light of quality, cost, and time requirements. Our administrative expenses decreased from 4.0% to 3.2%.
Personnel costs and lump-sum compensation for the four Management Board members during the reporting year totalled kCHF 753 (vs. kCHF 746 the previous year).
With a positive year-end result of kCHF 1,615 and a change in free funds of kCHF 115, our trust capital increased from kCHF 8,777 to kCHF 10,507 (factoring in currency adjustments).
Our organisational capital on the one hand ensures we can remain committed to our projects by helping to mitigate short-term fluctuations in donations for project financing. On the other hand, to our donors and in our tender documents it presents proof of our liquidity and financial capabilities.
Download Consolidated profit and loss account 2016
Detailed 2016 Financial Statement (in German)
Swisscontact is committed to principles of good governance for responsible management, control, and communication under the Swiss NPO code. The Foundation fulfils the Swiss GAAP FER 21 guidelines for charitable and social non-profit organisations and is ZEWO-certified.
With the increase in our project volume and number of staff, along with increasing complexity of our projects, Swisscontact’s area of risk has expanded accordingly. Swisscontact therefore remains committed to continuing perfecting our governance, business processes, controlling, and risk management. This also includes steadily reviewing and modernising our process efficiency and IT infrastructure. Our staff members undergo continuous training and instruction. With the improved IT-based project management, we can ensure our standards for project quality, cost and time savings are met. At the same time, we can monitor risks in real time at project, country, and organisational levels, implementing rapid action whenever necessary.
Swisscontact
Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation
Hardturmstrasse 123
CH-8005 Zurich
Tel. +41 44 454 17 17
Fax +41 44 454 17 97
E-Mail info@swisscontact.org
