Taking stock at the halfway point: a success report on the CAS Real Estate Accounting course
September 2022
New CAS in Real Estate Accounting at the University of Applied Sciences Zurich (HWZ)
The 15 participants on the brand-new course for the Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Real Estate Accounting have already reached the halfway mark. The long-awaited, industry-focused course has been a complete success so far and has received consistently positive feedback.
There have long been good training opportunities in real estate management and financial accounting, but until recently, there was only one certificate course specifically geared towards real estate accounting. As we were keen to change that, we developed a new CAS course together with Wincasa, the HWZ and the Swiss Real Estate School (SVIT). The concept first came about in 2018, when Martin Rauber, our Head of Real Estate Accounting, sat down with our Livit Academy to sketch out some initial ideas.
The training programme was developed on the basis of actual practice and geared towards practical application. The instructors are seasoned specialists drawn from our own ranks, so they are able to devise and communicate the teaching content in a practice-oriented way. Classes are conducted in a contemporary style, with a mix of face-to-face teaching and e-learning.
Die Weiterbildung wurde aus der Praxis für die Praxis entwickelt. Die Referenten sind erfahrene Fachpersonen aus den eigenen Reihen, die den Unterrichtsinhalt entsprechend praxisorientiert aufbereiten und vermitteln. Der Unterricht erfolgt zeitgemäss in einem Mix aus Präsenzunterricht und E-Learning.
«The instructors are all highly competent; you can tell that they’re professionals. We don’t just work on the theory, but also look at plenty of actual case studies. I’m already learning about things that crop up in my day-to-day work, so I’m able to apply that knowledge right away. I’d recommend the training to anyone who is keen to deepen their knowledge of real estate accounting.»
«The dream has finally come true: the industry has been crying out for this new CAS. I threw myself with gusto into preparing my 25 units on service charges, and got to experience the very first course up close in my capacity as an instructor. There were lots of stimulating, challenging questions and discussions about current issues such as sustainability, trends in energy prices, photovoltaic systems and self-consumption associations, and their effects on service charges. I wholeheartedly recommend this advanced training course, as many of the instructors actually work in this sector, so they are committed to ensuring that the content is based on actual practice and can be properly applied in practice in turn.»
Although there was undoubtedly a real need for this advanced training course, which was specially designed for real estate accounting, it was not a foregone conclusion that enough people would register for the first cohort. We are delighted that there was enough uptake to ensure that the course could launch in March 2022 as planned, with 15 participants. And we’re even more thrilled with their positive feedback, especially on the practical relevance and content of the course.
The second round is coming up soon. The next course is due to start in February 2023.