through 1991. She started her legal career at a law firm in Montreal, Canada named Grandpre, Colas, Dechenes, Godin in 1977. Anne received her LLB from the University Laval in Québec, Canada and Bar School in Montreal, Canada; she earned her MBA (Diplôme postgrade en gestion d’entreprise), Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland in 1982; and in 1988 earned the Swiss Federal Tax Expert qualification. Anne is a member of the Ordre Romand des Experts Fiscaux diplômés; the Bar of the province of Québec; the International Fiscal Association and the Tax Executives Institute.


(KJ): How did you become a tax professional and who were your mentors in the profession?

(AG): I started my career in Canada as a litigation lawyer, spending the better part of my time in Court. Having decided to move to Switzerland, I chose to complete an MBA programme to broaden my competencies and professional opportunities. After graduation, I joined Arthur Andersen in Geneva in 1982 expecting to work in the area of business consulting with some tax and structuring work. It turned out to be the other way around. Marshall Faillace, a veteran US tax partner with considerable international experience, an original mind with a great sense of client service, challenged me to focus on tax and developing the tax department. A few months under this leadership convinced me that taxation was an area where both my legal and business education would be put to benefit. My Canadian background and international profile, which did not allow me in those years to be admitted to the local Bar, provided me, on the contrary, with a competitive advantage in the field of international taxation. Those were exciting years during which I completed the professional qualification as a Swiss federal tax expert and saw our local practice grow fast. Accomplished professionals, such as tax partner Adelaide Passos and managing partner Don Person, taught me to always seek the highest service quality and run an efficient department.


(KJ): What made you move from consulting to a position in industry?

(AG): I decided in 1993 that time had come to settle as an independent tax advisor, with a Geneva based law firm highly specialized in taxation. But soon an opportunity was offered to me to create the Group tax function at the headquarters of a Swiss based multinational SGS, a global leader in inspection and testing services. We then had hundreds of subsidiaries in over 140 countries, trading locally and among themselves, with some forty thousand staff. This was dreamland. While ‘international’ tax practice in a law or accounting firm tends to focus on inbound/outbound investment of the home country, a multinational’s in-house tax function gets involved in direct dealings with foreign tax authorities, for planning and disputes, and has direct responsibility on tax matters arising in a multitude of States.


(KJ): What do you enjoy most about being a tax professional?

(AG): An in-house tax professional is part of a management team, defining strategies and projects and bringing them to fruition. Complex problem solving and constant negotiations bring a new challenge everyday. This is a knowledge-based function, in which one can obtain credit and respect by rigorous, dedicated and creative management. Our Group, similar to many European multinationals, operates a matrix organisation with a multi-cultural, multi-lingual management. To achieve your goals, you have to bridge cultural differences and be sensitive to the many informal communication channels that criss-cross the hierarchy.


(KJ): Does SOX have any effect on your work and responsibilities in a Swiss based multinational?

(AG): Foreign groups that are not listed on a US stock exchange are not directly subject to SOX requirements themselves but there is clearly a renewed focus on good corporate governance and structured risk management processes. We have for example diversified our sources of tax planning advice away from our internal auditors in response to perceived conflict of interest limitations. Recently, the Heads of Revenue Bodies meeting in Seoul under the auspices of the OECD Forum on Tax Administration issued a declaration calling for greater cooperation to improve international tax compliance, in what they perceive as a challenging environment. The Seoul Declaration specifically mentions that encouraging top management and audit committees of large enterprises to take greater interest in, and responsibility for, their tax strategies may further these goals. This increased focus provides great opportunities for the tax function to have better access to audit committees and Boards, to formulate and get support for tax policies and strategies. Our Group is very responsive to these needs. I believe open communication with Revenue bodies can foster trust and it is the role of the in-house tax function to lead and monitor at all times the relationships between the Group and the local tax offices. This should never be left to external tax advisors alone.


(KJ): What would you say characterises the tax practice in Switzerland?

(AG): Our Group is established worldwide, but we have a strong base in Switzerland with our headquarters and several manufacturing, commercial and logistics facilities. Switzerland is a small multi-cultural and multi-lingual country in which we have close and trusting relationship with our local tax offices. This trust is based on regular communication and transparency, a Swiss tradition of rigour combined with common sense and flexibility. I think criticism sometime heard about the Swiss tax environment is partly based on a misunderstanding of the fiscal and economic policies underlying our tax laws. Switzerland has an open economy and believes strongly in international (and also internal) tax competition as a means to reasonably restrain governments’ appetites, stimulate more efficient tax policies and provide a benchmark of governments’ efficiency. It applies generous social policies and strict environmental policies.
Maybe what characterizes best the Swiss tax environment is simply common sense!


(KJ): Finally, what are the major challenges of being a Swiss parent overseeing US subsidiary companies?

(AG): Differences between US GAAP and IFRS (international financial reporting standards) present occasional challenges and currently, with the developments in the area of accounting for uncertain tax positions, complex notions and differing standards may increase uncertainty and volatility. Overall, I must say that, in all these years of working with US subsidiaries, I have generally been impressed by the professionalism of our dedicated American in- house tax managers. Tax management has grown into a well-developed profession in the US and Canada, to an extent that is not seen elsewhere. A downside of this is the active recruitment market, which increases turnover in tax departments when competent colleagues are lured away by the promise of better financial rewards or promotion opportunities. Elsewhere in our Group, tax and finance managers tend to retain their positions for years, safe keeping valuable in-house knowledge and history sometimes indispensable in defending against unfounded or aggressive claims. So, well structured and documented processes are required to offset the greater turnover we see in US tax departments.


(KJ): Anne, thank you for the time you have taken to answer these questions. Your perspective is very valuable and we appreciate the time you have taken to share your experience with us.

Kathleen Jennings (KJ)
Editor, The Tax Intelligence Report
Kathleen@etsearch.com

Anne Guimond (AG)
Head of Tax / Worldwide Tax
Anne.guimond@richemont.com

How To Say Merry Christmas In 100 Languages!

Afrikaans:	Gesëende Kersfees
Afrikander:	Een Plesierige Kerfees
Albanian:	Gezur Krislinjden
Arabic:	Milad Majid
Argentine:	Feliz Navidad
Armenian:	Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand
Azeri:	Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun
Bahasa Malaysia:	Selamat Hari Natal
Basque:	Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!
Bengali:	Shuvo Naba Barsha
Bohemian:	Vesele Vanoce
Brazilian:	Feliz Natal
Bulgarian:	Tchestita Koleda
Catalan:	Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!
Chile:	Feliz Navidad
Chinese:	(Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan'Gung Haw Sun
Chinese:	(Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan
Choctaw:	Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito
Columbia:	Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Cornish:	Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth
Corsian:	Pace e salute
Crazanian:	Rot Yikji Dol La Roo
Cree:	Mitho Makosi Kesikansi
Croatian:	Sretan Bozic
Czech:	Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
Danish:	Glædelig Jul
Duri:	Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak
Dutch:	Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast
English:	Merry Christmas
Eskimo:	(inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!
Esperanto:	Gajan Kristnaskon
Estonian:	Ruumsaid juulup|hi
Ethiopian:	(Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal
Faeroese:	Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!
Farsi:	Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad
Finnish:	Hyvaa joulua
Flemish:	Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar
French:	Joyeux Noel
Frisian:	Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!
Galician:	Bo Nada
Gaelic:	Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!
German:	Froehliche Weihnachten
Greek:	Kala Christouyenna!
Haiti:	(Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri'cho o Rish D'Shato Brichto
Hausa:	Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaiian:	Mele Kalikimaka
Hebrew:	Mo'adim Lesimkha. Chena tova
Hindi:	Shub Naya Baras
Hausa:	Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!
Hawaian:	Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Hungarian:	Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket
Icelandic:	Gledileg Jol
Indonesian:	Selamat Hari Natal
Iraqi:	Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah
Irish:	Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat
Iroquois:	Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut.
Italian:	Buone Feste Natalizie
Japanese:	Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
Jiberish:	Mithag Crithagsigathmithags
Korean:	Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Lao:	souksan van Christmas
Latin:	Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!
Latvian:	Prieci'gus Ziemsve'tkus un Laimi'gu Jauno Gadu!
Lausitzian:	Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto
Lettish:	Priecigus Ziemassvetkus
Lithuanian:	Linksmu Kaledu
Low Saxon:	Heughliche Winachten un 'n moi Nijaar
Macedonian:	Sreken Bozhik
Maltese:	IL-Milied It-tajjeb
Manx:	Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa
Maori:	Meri Kirihimete
Marathi:	Shub Naya Varsh
Navajo:	Merry Keshmish
Norwegian:	God Jul, or Gledelig Jul
Occitan:	Pulit nadal e bona annado
Papiamento:	Bon Pasco
Papua New Guinea:	Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu
Peru:	Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo
Philipines:	Maligayan Pasko!
Polish:	Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie
Portuguese:	Feliz Natal
Rhetian:	Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn
Romanche:	Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!
Rumanian:	Sarbatori vesele
Russian:	Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom
Sami:	Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan:	La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Sardinian:	Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou
Serbian:	Hristos se rodi
Slovakian:	Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce
Sami:	Buorrit Juovllat
Samoan:	La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou
Scots Gaelic:	Nollaig chridheil huibh
Serb-Croatian:	Sretam Bozic. Vesela Nova Godina
Serbian:	Hristos se rodi.
Singhalese:	Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Slovak:	Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovene:	Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto
Spanish:	Feliz Navidad
Swedish:	God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År
Tagalog:	Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon
Tami:	Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal
Trukeese:	Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!
Thai:	Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas
Turkish:	Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian:	Srozhdestvom Kristovym
Urdu:	Naya Saal Mubarak Ho
Vietnamese:	Chung Mung Giang Sinh
Welsh:	Nadolig Llawen
Yugoslavian:	Cestitamo Bozic
Yoruba:	E ku odun, e ku iye'dun!

tra•di•tion
tr/-'di-sh/n
noun
a characteristic manner, method, or style.