Key facts
The Swiss commercial register is a public register containing legally relevant information on legal entities. The cantons are responsible for maintaining the commercial register. The Federal Commercial Registry Office (FCRO) in the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) carries out supreme supervision.
The commercial register is a highly regulated and inert system with complex process interactions between the authorities involved at cantonal and national level. Back in 2018, the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) issued a recommendation instructing the FOJ to clarify the legal, technical and financial options for simplifying the commercial register’s IT environment in the medium term.
The SFAO audited the progress made on modernising the commercial register. The findings show that, overall, despite several attempts and various clarifications by the FOJ, no significant progress has been made on modernising the commercial register.