Before taking the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) for continuing education, further training as a tax expert, participants must have at least four years of professional experience in the tax administration or a private company in which they were entrusted with answering specialist questions in the field of tax consulting, two years of which must have been in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein.

In addition, only persons who have either a university degree (at least a Bachelor's degree) in economics, business administration, business law or Swiss law, a recognized business administration degree from a College of Higher Education in Business Administration, an Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) as an expert in accounting and controlling, fiduciary expert, fiduciary expert, auditor or a professional examination as a specialist in finance and accounting or fiduciary are admitted to the examination.

You can expect it to take around three and a half years to complete the continuing education, further training to become a tax expert.

As a tax expert with a diploma, you acquire the following skills:

• Personnel management skills
• Employment in senior management
• Great expertise in the company
• Competencies far beyond the technical level

The tasks for a tax expert job are as follows:

• Supporting and advising clients on transactions and financial control
• Preparing tax returns and situation analyses for individuals and legal entities and reaching tax agreements (rulings) with the tax authorities
• Client advice to minimize tax risks
• Development of recommendations for action
• Ideas for tax optimization
• Carrying out internal and external audits
• In public administration: ensuring the correct application of tax law, making assessments, dealing with appeals and representing the authorities before the legal authorities
• Work as technical experts for tax administrations and tax courts

Tax experts with a federal diploma work in law firms, fiduciary companies, in industry, in multi-national corporations, for tax administrations, the tax justice system or on a self-employed basis.

After successfully completing the examination and diploma thesis, graduates are awarded the federally recognized title of "Certified Tax Expert".

A federally certified tax expert has the following responsibilities:

• Upper squad
• Great responsibility in technical and personnel matters
• Responsibility as technical experts
• Responsible for subordinate personnel

The following advanced courses follow on from the tax expert training:

• Professional training at the Swiss Fiduciary School and the Swiss Institute of Certified Accountants and Tax Consultants
• Postgraduate courses at colleges of higher education and universities of applied sciences such as: Dipl. Leiter/in Finanzen und Dienste NDS HF, Dipl. Finanzexperte/-in NDS HF

In addition to a diploma thesis to be written in advance, the following subjects are examined in the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) to become a certified tax expert:

• Value added tax
• Corporate tax law
• International tax law
• Taxes on natural persons
• BUSINESS STUDIES
• Law
• Criminal tax law and tax procedural law