‘When I’m lecturing, I’m in my element.’

 © Livit Ltd.

Lecturer, manager, connoisseur: an interview with Martin Rauber

Our Head of Real Estate Accounting is not only a passionate manager, but also an enthusiastic lecturer on the new CAS course in Real Estate Accounting at the University of Applied Sciences Zurich (HWZ). We asked him how he ended up in the role and what brings him the most joy.

Martin, let’s kick things off with you telling us something about yourself. What makes you special?  

I’m a family-minded person and very outgoing. I love being outdoors and enjoying all the beauty that life has to offer – whether that’s a fine meal, a cosy fire in the evening or a good conversation.

How did you find your professional passion and come to join Livit? 

As I have a head for numbers, I decided to do an apprenticeship at a bank. I came into contact with real estate through my father, who was a plumber and heating engineer. As a boy, I was often allowed to go with him when he was installing a large heating system, for instance. In other words, figures and real estate have been with me from a young age. I fell into the real estate industry by chance and very quickly realised that I felt at home there. 

When I joined Livit almost 18 years ago, I knew straight away that I wanted to work at the company. 

What exactly do you do as Head of Real Estate Accounting at Livit?

First and foremost, I manage the department, which is also my passion. I make sure my employees are able to do their jobs as well as possible. 

My team is responsible for ensuring that the figures used in our real estate accounting are correct. This includes drawing up bills for ancillary costs and for properties, in particular. We interface a lot with owners and their accountants on the one hand, and between internal specialist departments such as Property Management, Key Account Management and IT on the other. 

There have been a lot of changes in recent years, such as the move to fully digital invoice processing and the integration of billing for private communities for the consumption of photovoltaic energy. When I started out, there were eight employees in my team; now there are 50 of us.

For me, leadership is all about teamwork. It’s important that I don’t make all the decisions on my own and that I delegate management. My fantastic, long-standing team leads know the ins and outs of many issues better than I do and support me in this important task. We work very well as a team and can rely on each other.

You’ve been a part-time lecturer at the HWZ for about a year now. How did this come about?

I originally launched the new CAS in real estate accounting at the HWZ in collaboration with our Livit Academy. Teaching is something I’ve always wanted to do: I even considered becoming a teacher when I was deciding on a career. I love standing in front of people, whether it’s five or 500 – I’ve always been that way. There are always a few nerves with a new class, of course, but they quickly fade away. When I’m lecturing, I’m in my element.

© Livit Ltd.

You’ve already mentioned that Livit helped develop this course. What was the motivation behind it?

There were great courses out there for property management and financial accounting, but no specific training for real estate accounting. The diplomas in accounting and property management take different directions and don’t cover the specialist disciplines of real estate accounting. For us, it’s not just about numbers: it’s also about having an understanding of the technical side. We don’t have to be heating engineers, but we have to understand the connections and have a sense of how a property works and what goes into it.

So, I approached the Livit Academy and my line manager at the time with my idea of creating a training course tailored to our requirements profile. It was important that it was developed by people practicing in the field, for people practicing in the field. I also wanted it to engage with how the job is developing: for example, taking into account digital transformation, sustainability requirements and the IoT. 

The course was ultimately developed and implemented in collaboration with the HWZ, Wincasa and SVIT. 

What do you enjoy about lecturing?

I find discussions with my students to be a great source of enrichment. I’m someone who asks a lot of questions, and it’s important to me that my teaching isn’t hierarchical. What I say to the participants when they start their training is that everyone has something valuable to contribute. Get involved and ask questions freely. Take responsibility for your own learning. 

As a lecturer, I also learn a lot from my students’ input and questions. I really enjoy communication and interaction. Plus, I like the fact that my teaching content is almost like a living entity and that there is always something new to add. 

A day of lecturing always leaves me pretty exhausted – but totally satisfied, too.  

How do you keep students upbeat during a long day of theory? 

I make our sessions varied and interactive. For example, we gather in front of the board and discuss the topic at hand as a group. This allows us all to benefit from the wide range of knowledge and experience that a class of students from different property management firms brings to the table.

I also like using Mentimeter and Kahoot, and I always start things off with a quiz – not forgetting the joke questions, of course. They’re a fun way to stimulate exciting conversations and discussions. And laughter is always important!

You’re a manager, a lecturer and a family man. How do you juggle all this?

When I started lecturing, my three daughters were already grown-up. Being a manager and a family man generally taught me to set boundaries and meant that I didn’t want to work on weekends and evenings. Of course, there may be a need to do that from time to time. But I don’t want to look back at some point and wish I’d spent more time with my family. 

There was a time in my life when I reached my limit. I didn’t realise that myself at first: at the time, my wife, concerned about my health, gave me a reality check and encouraged me to cut back. In retrospect, this experience gave me the chance to reflect and to better assess my work-life balance.

You have to be disciplined and create moments of calmness in your day-to-day life. For me, for example, that’s a morning walk before work or a quiet coffee where I can unwind. 

What are the benefits of your dual role as Head of Real Estate Accounting, with its focus on practice, and as a lecturer at a university, where theory is the priority?

As a lecturer, I’m all too familiar with the challenges we face in practice – and so are all the participants in the CAS. Our day-to-day work is full of surprises and new challenges: our job lies in analysing these challenges and defining a response to them. This forms the basis for our teaching. We’re in the middle between owners, tenants and associations, and that’s not always an easy place to be. What are we allowed to do? What aren’t we? Tenancy law doesn’t regulate every detail, and we need to contrast it with the various recommendations and expectations out there. 

I’ve been in the real estate industry for 30 years. I share all kinds of things from my professional experience with the students that go beyond simply learning the theory. In my eyes, that’s the greatest advantage of the course.

My belief is that we, as an industry, are fair and understandable, that quality is what drives us and that we can stand behind our bills.

How much Livit expertise is included in the material for the course?

The material includes an array of practical examples, including on current issues with which many participants have had little or no contact. That makes them particularly valuable. The topics in question include contracting for district heating, private consumption communities for photovoltaic systems and e-mobility billing. And, of course, the lessons we’ve learned from our work.

To what extent does Livit support you in your part-time work as a lecturer? 

In general terms, Livit supported me in collaboratively coming up with the idea in the first place and putting it into practice. The Livit Academy handled the contractual basis for the collaboration with HWZ and Wincasa, while our marketing team worked with our partners to promote the CAS. 

Livit also gave me some of the time I needed to write my lectures. Now that the training is underway, I continue to be supported in my work as a lecturer: I’m able to attend our routine committee meetings during working hours. 

Has your work as a lecturer changed you as a manager?

I don’t think so, no – but it does help me develop and broaden my horizons. A positive side effect is that I get to know the Livit employees who are completing the CAS even better. Although contact with my employees is very important to me and I encourage it, we don’t always have time to sit and chat day to day. I really appreciate that we have these moments together as part of our training. 

Numbers, accounts, assets and liabilities… it’s enough to make your head spin. What’s the secret to understanding real estate accounting once and for all?

Numbers are our language: they express the inner workings of a property and how it impacts owners and tenants. Essentially, however, it’s about understanding the property. If you understand the property, you can draw up clear, accurate bills, and ultimately leave owners and tenants alike satisfied. That’s the goal and, to do that, I have to understand what I need to invoice, and how. 

The secret lies in drawing on your enthusiasm, intelligence, empathy and all the resources and tools at your disposal to assist your customers.