Visiting Vanessa Jenni, Managing Director of Treuhand Suisse

It’s a short walk from Bern’s main train station to the Monbijou district, named after a baroque country estate (“my jewel”). Far and wide there are no farms to be seen – but in a few minutes they will be.

Through an inconspicuous door we enter a stately old building and climb a narrow staircase. There we are greeted by Vanessa Jenni, Managing Director of Treuhand Suisse. She studied agronomy and lives on a farm, but is quick to tell us, “My husband runs the farm – I only help out on weekends.” She adds, "Although I run the association, we have a trustee – without him we would be stuck. Like almost any other business in the world.”

Sporting yellow socks, Crocs, and a short-sleeved shirt, Vanessa Jenni leads us into a huge meeting room that could easily hold two ping-pong tables. We’re here to talk about the fiduciary industry; the association wants to position its members more as coaches to small businesses. “During the Covid-19 pandemic, we were struck by the importance of our advisory role,” she says. “When the guidelines for government assistance changed from week to week, companies simply didn't have the ability to keep up.” But even when it’s “business as usual”, the trustees are often management’s first port of call when the going gets tough.

Trustees also see themselves as input providers: Especially when it comes to digitization, they are usually further ahead than their client companies and can give them valuable advice, according to Vanessa Jenni. Of course, “there are still companies that come to the trustee’s office with boxes full of paper,” she says, so the industry needs to be accessible to all customers.

What's true for document storage is also true for payments. “Our members tend to be very tech-savvy and embrace digitization,” Vanessa Jenni says, adding, “they were quick to adopt the QR-bill, they’ve been using eBill since day one, and they’re aware of instant payments.” But typical fiduciary clients – carpentry shops, hair salons, physical therapy practices – are more skeptical of new technology, she reveals. “I understand that because payments typically have little to do with their core business.”

On the flip chart in the XXL meeting room are children’s drawings – “My daughters were in here the other day,” Vanessa Jenni says. But the little ones are not too impressed with their mother’s office: It's much more exciting to be on the farm with dad. And no wonder: In addition to farm animals, vegetable plots, and fruit trees, there is a fish farm and – most thrillingly – a horse stable. The latter is part of their mother’s job: She is not only a passionate rider and breeder, but also an equestrian scientist and director of Vereinigung Pferd, the Swiss horse association.

What else keeps this horse whisperer busy? Vanessa Jenni immediately starts talking about the lack of qualified personnel. “Personnel in the fiduciary sector in Switzerland are at least as scarce as in the nursing sector or in schools,” she says. “Most members of our association are so overworked that they’re generally not taking on any new mandates.” Accordingly, Treuhand Suisse runs programs for career changers. “Recently, a pharmacist called me and wanted to know more about our profession,” Vanessa Jenni says. “At first, I was a little surprised, but I quickly realized how well she had already trained and informed herself. And dealing with customers is in her blood anyway.” She gives us the commercial pitch: “The job of a fiduciary is very varied, you get to look inside companies, and the salary is a real plus.”

Seven people work at the Treuhand Suisse office, and the association represents 4,000 individual and corporate members who work primarily for SMEs and private individuals. Vanessa Jenni herself has no fiduciary training. She came to Treuhand Suisse by chance. Before going to college, she worked at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and knew the in-house lawyer well. When he joined the association years later, he contacted her and convinced her to make the change. “The fact that I’m not a trustee is not a problem,” she reveals. “I don't have to do the accounting, I have to run the association.” Laughing, she admits that she doesn’t use eBill yet (“I must get round to it!”) and that she collects paper invoices from her farm (“How embarrassing!”).

It's getting late at Monbijou. Vanessa Jenni says goodbye; she has to leave because she's giving two more riding lessons tonight. “And then, if I feel like it, I’ll get on a horse myself and ride off into the sunset.”