Relia­ble numbers don’t appear overnight

When the board of trus­tees deci­des on annual finan­cial state­ments, asset stra­te­gies or funding budgets, they need clear reports, conso­li­da­ted figu­res and clear decis­ion-making bases. There is a complex process behind these docu­ments. The inter­na­tio­nal consul­ting and fidu­ciary company KENDRIS ensu­res that these bases are correct with a broad-based team. Speci­fi­cally: that assets are correctly valued, tran­sac­tions are properly recor­ded and finan­cial infor­ma­tion is relia­bly prepared – that is, neutral and accoun­ting-based, as well as inde­pen­dent and with the neces­sary distance from banks and asset managers.

Joël Escher, Co-Head Accoun­ting and Invest­ment Report­ing at KENDRIS, has specia­li­zed in finan­cial and secu­ri­ties accoun­ting in the indus­try over the past 14 years. As a former compe­ti­tive swim­mer and Swiss cham­pion in the 1500-meter free­style, he has lear­ned that sustainable perfor­mance is rarely the result of short-term effort. He applies this atti­tude to his current work: precis­ion, perse­ver­ance and conti­nuous impro­ve­ment are, in his view, essen­tial prere­qui­si­tes for crea­ting a clear foun­da­tion for the boards of foun­da­ti­ons in an incre­asingly complex environment.

The inde­pen­dent rapporteur

In the foun­da­tion sector, KENDRIS plays a role that is often over­loo­ked in the day-to-day opera­ti­ons of orga­niza­ti­ons. Accor­ding to Joël Escher, many foun­da­ti­ons face a dual chall­enge: “On the one hand, they need profes­sio­nal admi­nis­tra­tive manage­ment, and on the other hand, they need inde­pen­dent, high-quality finan­cial and invest­ment transparency.”

This is exactly the gap that KENDRIS is filling. The company takes over the over­all admi­nis­tra­tion for foun­da­tion boards, inclu­ding gover­nance, accoun­ting and regu­la­tory requi­re­ments. “At the same time, we have the specia­li­zed exper­tise to prepare annual finan­cial state­ments in accordance with Swiss GAAP FER and to provide inde­pen­dent finan­cial and invest­ment report­ing,” says Escher.

With eInvest­ment report­ing, ESG report­ing and fully digi­tal access to current finan­cial figu­res, KENDRIS crea­tes trans­pa­rency at the desi­red frequency of the foun­da­tion board. The various specia­list areas are linked toge­ther accor­ding to the needs of the client.

“We see oursel­ves as inde­pen­dent and neutral repor­ters,” says Escher. This perspec­tive is parti­cu­larly important for the board members who are respon­si­ble for the foundation’s capi­tal. “This way, they receive not just isola­ted indi­vi­dual infor­ma­tion, but a consis­tent over­all picture – profes­sio­nally sound, inde­pen­dent of the bank, without conflicts of inte­rest and focu­sed on their responsibility.”

More than “just bookkeeping”

Despite this complex role, the work as a finan­cial and fidu­ciary service provi­der is often unde­re­sti­ma­ted, says Escher. “Many people have the feeling that we are ‘just doing book­kee­ping’. They wonder: What is so diffi­cult about that?”

The field of work has chan­ged signi­fi­cantly in recent years, parti­cu­larly in terms of its comple­xity and volume. In the past, manda­tes often invol­ved a few hundred tran­sac­tions, whereas today KENDRIS mana­ges manda­tes with seve­ral thousand bookings, various bank rela­ti­onships, private equity invest­ments and other directly and indi­rectly held assets. The effort requi­red to ensure the quality, consis­tency and tracea­bi­lity of the data is corre­spon­din­gly greater.

“In addi­tion, the requi­re­ments are beco­ming incre­asingly complex,” explains Escher. In addi­tion to secu­ri­ties accoun­ting, tax, regu­la­tory and accoun­ting aspects must also be taken into account. Infor­ma­tion from various fund docu­men­ta­tion must be correctly inter­pre­ted and integrated.

In addi­tion to this tech­ni­cal comple­xity, custo­mer expec­ta­ti­ons are also incre­asing: “Custo­mers are incre­asingly wanting their annual finan­cial state­ments in Janu­ary,” says Escher. The chall­enge is ther­e­fore to combine incre­asing volu­mes, more complex manda­tes and high speed requi­re­ments without compro­mi­sing on quality.

Tech­no­logy is chan­ging wealth management

The image of “clas­si­cal accoun­ting” is also beco­ming less and less rele­vant to reality because the field of work has chan­ged drama­ti­cally as a result of tech­no­lo­gi­cal deve­lo­p­ments. Digi­ta­liza­tion has auto­ma­ted many repe­ti­tive tasks and has made the work of accoun­tants redun­dant in some cases. Howe­ver, Escher sees tech­no­lo­gi­cal deve­lo­p­ment as an oppor­tu­nity: “This is, in a way, our grea­test bles­sing. Without these new systems, we would not be able to handle the large number of manda­tes with the requi­red accu­racy, flexi­bi­lity and speed.” 

Auto­ma­tion, AI and well-struc­tu­red proces­ses are part of KENDRIS’ corpo­rate DNA. “They are the levers that make deman­ding work more effi­ci­ent and improve the quality of our working lives,” says Escher. In addi­tion, his team can focus more on quality assu­rance, control­ling and imple­men­ting custo­mer requi­re­ments. After all, the tools do now deli­ver reports at the push of a button – but such a system is not set up and ready to use over­night. This requi­res not only careful confi­gu­ra­tion, expe­ri­ence and specia­list know­ledge, but also conti­nuous cali­bra­tion and adapt­a­tion to new or chan­ging requirements.

Digi­ta­liza­tion is also incre­asing custo­mer expec­ta­ti­ons. “I am convin­ced that the demands for speed will conti­nue to increase. With the right tools and conti­nuous process impro­ve­ments, this is some­thing we can handle very well,” says Escher.

Deve­lo­ping profes­sio­nals instead of just sear­ching for them

It is precis­ely because proces­ses are beco­ming incre­asingly auto­ma­ted and manda­tes more complex that quali­fied specia­lists are beco­ming even more important. Tech­no­logy does not replace exper­tise, but rather increa­ses the demands on employees. “Team members who under­stand the systems, criti­cally ques­tion the results and have a firm grasp of the tech­ni­cal context are all the more important,” says Escher.

“We invest speci­fi­cally in trai­ning and further educa­tion, expect a sense of respon­si­bi­lity, define our quality requi­re­ments precis­ely and work with review proces­ses,” says Escher. This is supple­men­ted by stan­dar­di­zed proces­ses and auto­ma­tion, so that quality is achie­ved syste­ma­ti­cally and not by chance.

“Our ulti­mate goal is not just to impart know­ledge, but to deve­lop employees who can inde­pendently under­stand and manage complex manda­tes,” explains Escher. This approach, which aims to address the shortage of skil­led workers through syste­ma­tic deve­lo­p­ment and long-term skills buil­ding, has proven very successful so far.

“I don’t like the top-down mentality”

For Escher, the right team culture and trust are just as important for KENDRIS’ success. The concerns of his employees play a key role in this: “I don’t believe in a top-down menta­lity. We treat each other as equals and main­tain a very open and trans­pa­rent communication.”

Mista­kes can be discus­sed, and proces­ses can be analy­zed and impro­ved toge­ther. Those who enjoy conti­nuous deve­lo­p­ment and have the neces­sary perse­ver­ance will conti­nue to deve­lop. “In my leader­ship role, I demand this very drive for impro­ve­ment. I expect commit­ment and perso­nal respon­si­bi­lity, but also enthu­si­asm for quality, clean and effi­ci­ent proces­ses, and profes­sio­nal excel­lence,” he explains.

For Escher, it is clear: “Nothing affects quality as much as exces­sive pres­sure and stress.” The best results are achie­ved where people who are perfor­mance-orien­ted feel valued, unders­tood, and well supported.

Accor­ding to Escher, as in compe­ti­tive sports, it is not about short-term succes­ses in the trust busi­ness, but about long-term deve­lo­p­ment. “Top perfor­man­ces do not emerge over­night. They are the result of disci­pline, commit­ment, a bit of luck and a passion for the subject.”

Digi­tal Asset Manage­ment – Digi­tal Tools

The speci­fic role that digi­tal tools play in the asset manage­ment of foun­da­ti­ons today is also the subject of a joint webi­nar by KENDRIS and c‑alm in the “Digi­tal Asset Manage­ment” series. Experts will discuss how modern report­ing, compa­ri­son and control­ling tools can be used to increase trans­pa­rency and where digi­ta­liza­tion reaches its limits in prac­tice. 

Free webi­nar
Part of the webi­nar series “Digi­tal Asset Manage­ment”
With experts from KENDRIS and c‑alm
13 April 2026, 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Apply now