Annual report for the fiscal year from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012

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Company
Accumulated global knowledge –
our competitive advantage
Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance,
tax, transaction and advisory
services. Our greatest asset is the knowledge
of our employees: a firm foundation
for sustainable operations. As a
member of the global Ernst & Young
organization, Ernst & Young Switzerland
offers clients access to a global pool of
knowledge and innovation. In this chapter,
we report on our values, our culture, our
structure and our services.
Ernst & Young Switzerland is committed to achieving its goals
relating to sustainable development. After all, new solutions
need to be developed if the world’s growing population is to
continue living a dignified and secure life in spite of limited
resources. This means new products, new production processes
and new organizational approaches for successful
companies – a great opportunity for all market participants
that have managed to get one step ahead thanks to their
ideas, expertise and innovative products.
Sustainability is good for business
In such a lively economic environment, the accumulated
global knowledge of Ernst & Young professionals is a key
competitive advantage. Our people always have their
fingers on the pulse of the issues that matter. They are able
to help leading, innovative companies set challenging
goals, achieve these efficiently, and disclose and reliably
monitor their performance.
An increasing number of clients are approaching us
with explicit sustainability questions – a clear indication of
the growing significance of this issue within the auditing
and advisory business. Clients naturally expect us to have
a professional and forward-looking sustainability manage-
ment system of our own and we as a company are pleased
to rise to the challenge.
Benefits for national economies
In this context, Ernst & Young’s business activities contribute
to significant improvements for our clients. The
quality of information available to the financial markets
increases, which is an important factor in establishing a
stable economy that is fair for all stakeholders. Companies
that are strategically well run will, in the long run, survive
longer on the market.
We also offer Climate Change and Sustainability Services
(CCaSS). The CCaSS team is on hand to support our clients
with all their needs in this area. To set a good example,
we also emphasize the importance of sustainable company
management at Ernst & Young.
The issue of sustainability is therefore doubly relevant
for Ernst & Young, as it affects our clients and also refers to
the demands that we place on our own company. Our solutions
for meeting these demands and our achievements in
the current reporting year are addressed in this report.
We want to actively take on the challenge of sustainable
business management. We have identified the following
areas as being particularly important: improving diversity
by increasing the number of women in management positions,
protecting the environment (e.g., by further reducing
the number of workplace printers), and securing
economic success by optimizing costs in the supply chain.
We provide auditing and advisory services to ensure
good corporate governance, reliable finance communication
and stringent risk management. Establishing and
maintaining our knowledge base is the main focus of our
business model. That is why we encourage our people to
take part in further education and training as an ongoing
process. We also promote close dialogue within the organization,
as the quality of all our services substantially relies
on the expertise and knowledge of our employees. Every
day, 167,000 Ernst & Young employees contribute their
expertise, experience and ideas to the company’s global
knowledge pool – to the enormous benefit of all our clients.
Our know-how is good for the economy and society. This
is Ernst & Young’s main contribution toward sustainable
development at a local, regional and global level.
Annual report 2012