Digitalisation Support for Fiduciary Firms and Their Clients
The industry package digitalises fiduciary firms on both sides: the firm itself and the interface to its clients. The firm works leanly, without media breaks, and securely, while clients gain shared portals and automated data flows, without any loss of specialist diligence. Assessment of mandate, accounting and audit remains with the responsible fiduciaries and auditors. What is taken on is the technical side: architecture, controlled implementation, integration and security, for the firm itself and for the systems that connect firm and client.
Typical starting points
A fiduciary firm:
- that wants to structure or modernise its own IT: existing systems, processes and data flows are analysed and translated into a vendor-neutral target picture
- that wants to build digital client services without purchasing a ready-made standard solution: portals, onboarding journeys and document exchange are planned on a controlled architecture
- that wants to connect existing point solutions cleanly and bring them into an operating model: interfaces, access rights, logging and responsibilities are documented
Outcomes
The firm can shift its business model from pure administration to higher-margin advisory: digital client services, without giving up operational control or specialist independence, and an IT that takes on new mandates without new system breaks. The concrete artefacts produced are:
- a vendor-neutral architecture target picture
- documented data flows and interfaces
- a verifiably secured access and logging concept
- an operating model that records responsibilities
Scope of work
Client and firm are connected through a controlled layer: an encrypted portal and clear API contracts instead of documents by email, with a single source of truth in the firm.
sequenceDiagram
accTitle: Data flow between client and firm
accDescr: The client uploads documents encrypted into the portal, which transfers them into the firm core system; after posting and review the firm provides the payroll statement, which the client downloads securely.
participant M as Client
participant P as Portal
participant K as Firm
M->>P: Upload document encrypted
P->>K: Transfer into core system (API)
K->>K: Posting and review (specialist judgement)
K->>P: Provide payroll statement
P-->>M: Download securelyIT architecture for the firm Existing systems, processes and data flows are analysed and a resilient target picture is designed:
- accounting, dossier and reporting tools classified vendor-neutrally
- connected through stable API contracts, so every solution stays replaceable
- a single source of truth, instead of entering an address change in three systems
Client digitalisation as a controlled extension Where the firm offers its clients digital workflows, portals, onboarding journeys and document exchange are built on a clear architecture rather than as workarounds, so that documents can be uploaded with legal certainty and payroll statements downloaded, without sending sensitive data unencrypted by email.
Integration and interfaces Specialist systems are connected through interfaces (an anti-corruption layer to the core system), instead of transferring data manually. Prioritising and sequencing prevents new tools from creating additional dependencies instead of relief.
Security and operating model Access rights, logging and data storage are designed so that mandate data is technically and verifiably protected (zero trust). The operating model defines who is responsible for which systems and when external support is engaged.
Scope boundaries
Assessment of mandate, accounting and audit rests exclusively with the specialist staff in the firm; no accounting or legal recommendations are given. The technical support does not stop at the firm's door: where the firm offers its clients digital workflows, the necessary architecture is planned in, but operational management of the client relationship stays with the firm. The choice of specific software products is supported, not prescribed: the vendor-neutral basis is provided by the Independent Software Evaluation. The ongoing, deadline-proof operation of the firm systems belongs to Modern Service Management.
Key data
The effort depends on the size of the firm and the breadth of digitalisation:
- how many core systems are affected
- how tightly the client interfaces are integrated
- how deep integration and security reach
A focused firm modernisation is clearly delineated, an end-to-end digitalisation across firm and clients demands more. What the support costs in a concrete case depends on exactly these factors. The price range gives the frame for your own firm.
Further information
- API-First, connecting systems without obscured dependencies.
- nFADP, data flows and access protection under Swiss data protection law.
- Make or Buy, choosing the right software for firm and clients.