Client data in Switzerland
A fiduciary office processes other people’s data — the wages, turnover and documents of its clients; anyone running audit engagements is additionally bound by the confidentiality of Article 730b paragraph 2 of the Code of Obligations and the professional secrecy of Article 321 of the Criminal Code.
Definition
The data location is therefore not a preference but information the office owes every client. It belongs in the data processing agreement between office and client — and for that the office needs the same information from its software vendor.
The second question is separating engagements: a staff member should only see the clients they look after. That is a question of rights management, and simple programs cannot represent it.
Where to read it
- Swiss Code of Obligations (SR 220)
- Swiss Criminal Code (SR 311.0)
- Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner
What the software must be able to do
Check: client separation with rights per staff member, an access log, a data processing agreement with a subprocessor list — and a complete export per client for the case where an engagement moves elsewhere.
Checked Aug 2026
More terms under Procurement, operation and data: Data hosted in Switzerland MediData Partner required Patient data in Switzerland Trust Center