Guest Lecture by Sebastian Andreae (HSV) on Accounting in Professional Football

14 May 2025

Photo: Yannik Gehrke

As part of the Bachelor's module "Basics of Accounting" Sebastian Andreae from Hamburger SV delivered a guest lecture on the specificities of accounting in professional football. The lecture took place shortly after HSV's promotion to the Bundesliga and attracted an audience of around 500 students.

The lecture provided a detailed look at the financial structures and dynamics that shape accounting practices at professional football clubs, covering areas ranging from transfer dealings to licensing requirements. A particularly illustrative example concerned the limits of balance sheet recognition of player values: despite being widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time, Lionel Messi has never been capitalised as an asset on a balance sheet, as he has always transferred as a free agent. This case demonstrates how the conservatism principle in financial reporting can result in balance sheets that do not fully reflect the true economic value of an organisation.

The highest-achieving students in the course are offered the opportunity to attend a Bundesliga match at the Volksparkstadion as a special performance incentive. This connects outstanding academic engagement with a direct glimpse into the world of professional football — in line with the practice-oriented approach that underlies this teaching format.

The guest lecture forms part of a long-standing cooperation between the module and HSV. Yannik Gehrke would like to thank HSV as well as Nicole Ratzinger-Sakel and all those involved at the Institute of Auditing and Accounting for nurturing this partnership over many years.