Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

The Creation of a Unique Business Identification Number in Switzerland OECD – 25 November 2008Pascal Utz

2 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

List of contents

• Goals of Enterprise Identification Number (UID)

• The Situation in Switzerland

• The UID Register

• Advantages and Challenges

• Schedule

3 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

Current Situation in Switzerland

Almost every administrative register today has its own identification number

• Duplications

• Inefficient processes

• High costs

• Limited exchange of information among administrative agencies

• Slow processes

4 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

Goals of enterprise identification number (UID)

• Reducing time and money expenses for enterprises

• Developing e-government

• Lower costs for the public authorities

• Making administrative registers more up-to-date

• Better cooperation among administrations

• National coordination instead of cantonal solutions

• Reduction of different identification numbers

5 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

Administrative Registers

• No national business register

• Each administrative register only covers part of the businesses

• Different definitions of a business enterprise

• Registers tend to be managed at a regional level

6 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

The Business and Enterprise Register (BER)

• Statistical Register

• Nearly complete

• Up to date

• Many data sources

• Established processes

7 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

The UID Register

• Administrative register

• The BER as a reference register

• Physically separate from the BER

• Limited number of variables

• Some variables are publicly accessible

• Other variables are only accessible to the public authorities

8 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

Advantages for Business and Enterprise Register

Additional sources of information:

• More up-to-date data

• Comprehensiveness

• Simpler data collection through single identifier

Better economic statistics

9 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

Challenges

• Lack of legal foundations

• Defining an business enterprise

• High time pressure

• Public access to the UID register (Data protection)

• Verification of data

• Data quality and guarantee of quality

10 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

Schedule

Putting into effect of UID law: 1 January 2011

UID in the administrative registers 2011 – 2013 (1st part)

2011 – 2016 (2nd part)

Replacement of existing indicators 2011 – 2016

11 The creation of a unique enterprise number in Switzerland | Wiesbaden Group on Business Registers – 25 November 2008

Pascal Utz

Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHAFederal Statistical Office FSO

Thank you for your attention