To begin with, could you please introduce yourself and tell us about Nova Gestion’s mission? 

Nova Gestion is a Geneva-based trust company, with a branch in Valais, which we co-founded Amine Moudrik and myself, Guillaume Bertin. At Nova Gestion, we support SMEs, the self-employed and business leaders in setting up and/or developing their businesses in Switzerland. 

Our scope goes beyond that of a traditional fiduciary. In addition to accounting, taxation and social security contributions, we operate in four areas that set us apart. 

Firstly, the establishment of turnkey companies. We handle the process from the very start: choosing the legal structure, drafting the articles of association, raising capital, registering with the Companies Register, opening bank accounts, and registering for social security and VAT. The director arrives with a business plan and leaves with a fully operational company. 

Next, the appointments as managing director and director. For many foreign executives or organisations requiring a Swiss resident director, we – Amine and Guillaume – personally serve as directors or managers. These are roles we undertake in our own capacity, with all the responsibility that this entails.  We devote a significant amount of time to these roles and deliberately limit their number to ensure we can carry them out with the utmost professionalism. 

Thirdly, domicile and representation. Our offices in Geneva and Valais enable us to host companies’ registered offices, act as their tax representatives and serve as a registered address for administrative purposes. 

Finally, support for international executives. We regularly work with entrepreneurs from Europe, the Gulf or elsewhere who need a partner capable of understanding their home context and translating Swiss requirements into a framework that makes sense to them. This multicultural aspect is part of our day-to-day work. 

Across all these projects, our approach is based on a simple idea: we are our clients’ direct points of contact. No opaque chain of command, no change of contact person every six months. We, the partners (Guillaume and Amine), are personally involved in the cases, and this is what enables a genuine, long-term relationship built on trust. 

What are the main management challenges your clients are currently facing? 

Three difficulties crop up time and again. 

The first is administrative and regulatory complexity. Between VAT, social security contributions, the LPP, the accounting requirements under the Swiss Code of Obligations, the With changes to cantonal tax laws, many managers only become aware of these issues as they go along and fall behind. In Switzerland, formal rigour is stringent, and a classification error or a poorly handled transitional provision can prove costly during an audit or inspection. 

The second is time. Administrative tasks are time-consuming and invisible: as long as everything runs smoothly, nobody notices the work that’s been done. But as soon as there’s a delay in payroll, an AVS reminder or a questionable tax assessment, the impact on the business is immediate.  Many of our clients come to us after having tried to manage everything themselves and realised that they were neglecting their core business. 

The third issue concerns business management. Many business leaders keep their accounts up to date and comply with their legal obligations, but do not necessarily have the tools required to manage their business effectively. They know their turnover and are aware of what has been received or paid out, but often struggle to identify what actually generates value, which activities are profitable and where the key areas for improvement lie. 

In our practice, we regularly find that strategic decisions are made on the basis of intuition, gut feelings or an incomplete view of the financial situation.  This is why we devote a significant part of our support to re-establishing simple, reliable management indicators that can be directly utilised by the manager. In particular, we analyse margins by business line, by client or by project; we draw up cash flow forecasts to anticipate funding requirements; and we calculate the break-even point to determine the minimum level of activity required for the business to be profitable. 

In practical terms, what benefits does outsourcing HR and administrative functions bring to the business leaders you support? 

Firstly, there is the issue of compliance. HR procedures in Switzerland – including registration with social security funds, compliant contracts, payslips, annual certificates and monitoring of residence permits for cross-border workers – are complex and subject to regular changes. Outsourcing ensures that these obligations are met on time, without the risk of tax reassessments or disputes with an employee. 

Next, time saved. A manager who spends two days a month on payroll and social security declarations is taking two days away from their clients or their team.  When we take over these tasks, they immediately regain the time to focus on what creates value for their business. 

Finally, and this is undoubtedly the least visible but most fundamental aspect: a framework. By outsourcing, our clients adopt standardised processes, including documented onboarding, job descriptions, absence tracking and tax deadlines. These processes, which would have taken them years to formalise on their own, then enable them to recruit, delegate and grow without everything resting on their shoulders.

Artificial intelligence is gradually transforming support functions. What impact have you already observed on management roles, and how do you support your clients through this transition? 

The impact is real, but it is not where we expect it to be. AI does not replace accountants or fiduciaries: it shifts the value. Purely repetitive tasks – data entry, reconciliation and the initial classification of documents – are being automated rapidly. What remains, and is even becoming more important, is analysis, interpretation and advice. This is precisely the heart of our profession. 

In practical terms, we use AI in-house to speed up the review of files, structure tax analyses and prepare materials for our clients. This allows us to devote more time to engaging with business leaders rather than to administrative tasks. 

For our clients, our role is twofold. On the one hand, we help them identify what they can automate within their own administrative processes — invoicing, reminders, processing expense claims — without falling into the trap of overpromising, as some tools do. On the other hand, we remain vigilant about what AI currently struggles with: the legal and tax classification of a transaction, taking into account specific cantonal contexts, and professional judgement. In these areas, an error by a tool can cost far more than the time saved. Our job is to establish this framework. 

Given your broad perspective on business, what do you think are the most underestimated factors for building a sustainable organisational structure and supporting its growth? 

Four key factors that we often see being overlooked. 

The first: cash flow. Many managers run their businesses with a focus on profit, whereas it is cash flow that determines a company’s survival and its ability to invest. We regularly come across companies that are profitable on paper but find themselves under pressure due to a lack of forward planning. A 12-month cash flow budget, updated monthly, radically improves the quality of decision-making. It is a simple tool, inexpensive to implement, and yet rarely used. 

The second one: process documentation. As long as a business relies on the knowledge of its director or two key employees, it cannot be handed on and remains vulnerable. Documenting procedures, even in a summary form, makes the business resilient, facilitates recruitment and paves the way for any future operations, whether that involves a handover, a capital raise or simply the delegation of responsibilities. 

The third, which is more low-key: legal structure and governance. The choice between sole proprietorship, a limited liability company (Sàrl) and a public limited company (SA), the composition of the board of directors, the drafting of appropriate articles of association, and the division of responsibilities amongst founders where there are several – these are issues that are often addressed at the time of incorporation but then forgotten. However, it is precisely during the growth phase that these initial choices reveal their limitations. A well-thought-out set of articles of association drawn up at an early stage avoids months of negotiation and high costs later on.

Finally, a fourth factor that is consistently found in the best-performing companies: steering. Many business leaders keep their accounts up to date, but lack the key performance indicators that would enable them to truly understand what creates value in their business. Key performance indicators enable entrepreneurs to make informed decisions rather than relying on intuition. The difference between a business that is merely weathering its growth and one that is actively managing it often lies in its ability to measure the right indicators at the right time. 

Ultimately, sustainable growth does not depend on a one-off event or a one-off opportunity. It depends on a series of strategic decisions taken in advance, often when there is as yet no apparent urgency to do so. Companies that invest in their foundations before they actually need them are generally the ones that weather periods of rapid growth, transformation or crisis best.