„Adlershof is perfect as a location“
In conversation with Stefan Martini & August Schleicher, owner of the tax consultancy martini + schleicher Steuerberatungsgesellschaft
All tax advisors are loners and mavericks? This classic tax advisor stereotype does not apply to Stefan A. Martini und August Schleicher. On the contrary, the two merged their respective offices to become the go-to office for tax advice in Adlershof. Schleicher, the more senior of the two number crunchers, is opening up more time to spend with his grandchildren and hobbies, while his partner Martini seeks a more balanced work-life ratio after the merger.
What motivated you to merge your offices?
August Schleicher (AS): I had to address the succession issue and was actively looking for new partners. My preference was an Adlershof-based office because I find it perfect as a location.
Stefan Martini (SM): When August Schleicher approached me almost three years ago, we immediately clicked. For me, the increasing amount of tax law cases was decisive for joining forces. With increasing specialisation, it is becoming more difficult to work alone.
What is the potential behind martini + schleicher?
AS: Besides covering the entire range of tax-related tasks, which Stefan Martini is now responsible for, our office focuses on international tax law and statutory conversion tax law, which are my two key areas. Our team consists of 16 people, which include another tax advisor. It is important to us that we maintain utmost reliability. By joining forces, we can guarantee that to our clients.
Who are your clients?
SM: About a third are from Adlershof, the rest is from all over Berlin.
How did the fusion your offices take place?
AS: We took a lot of time for the merger. Of course, some of our staff were afraid of the changes. We had to bring together two staff teams as well as harmonise two different IT systems. For this reason, we let the two companies get to know each other over the course of two years.
SM: The well-being of our staff is very important to us. Way ahead of time, we set up a cross-team working group, got an overview of staff sentiment and commissioned the consulting company DATEV to support us from the outside. We are also quite happy with our new working environment created by our representative offices at the Europa-Center Adlershof.
How did you first get to know Adlershof?
AS: My first contact happened on 30 June 1990. I remember this precisely because I was invited to a dance event called “Tanz in die D-Markt” in a building on the former premises of the GDR’s guard regiment “Feliks Dzierzynski“. It took until 1998, however, when I was one of the first tenants to move my office into the Johann-Neumann-Haus, that Adlershof started to interest me as a workplace.
SM: I took over an office in Rudow in 2010 and the facilities were terrible. I used to cycle through Adlershof on my way to work – and since I’m interested in architecture, it was clear where I rather wanted my office to be. I moved into Europa-Center Adlershof in early 2012.
What sparked your interest in tax matters?
SM: I love my job but I originally wanted to become a doctor. However, I didn’t prepare very well for the admissions test. My uncle was a business economist, he inspired me.
AS: I completed an apprenticeship as an assistant tax consultant, so I actually learned the job from scratch. I got a degree in business management via distance learning and took all the professional examinations. It felt like all I did was work after that.
What do you do in the spare time you have?
AS: I go sailing. My wife and I bought a boat last year, which is now in the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden. I took this boat and went on vacation for three weeks straight in early summer without working for the first time ever. I’m also a proud grandfather. My grandchild is one-and-a-half and once a week is Grandpa Day. Now I can make up for what working made me miss out on when my own four children were growing up.
SM: When I do have spare time, I like to spend it with my wife and our two sons. I play tennis and like to tinker around the house and the garden. I’m also intrigued by the idea of designing and building my own house.
What personal wishes do you have?
AS: I would like to go down the Appalachian Trail, a 3,500-km long-distance trail in the US.
SM: Travel the world.
Interview by Sylvia Nitschke for Adlershof Journal