About us
A future built on established roots
In 2023 our company celebrated its 90th anniversary
- 1920
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1928
Founded in 1928 by Willy Schmädicke, the company can look back on an eventful history.
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1945
Bombed out in April 1945, Willy Schmädicke and his family moved to Trebbin in 1945, where the company was rebuilt.
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1966
In 1966, Willy Schmädicke's daughter Rotraud Knabe followed in his footsteps and began training as an "assistant in tax matters" (as tax consultants were then known), which she successfully completed in 1972.
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1990
After being appointed as a tax consultant in January 1990, she took over the company and began to expand it continuously.
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2001
In 2001, Stephan Knabe was officially appointed as a tax consultant.
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2003
2003 – Stephan Knabe opens a tax consultancy office in Potsdam, thereby returning to the place where the family tradition was first established.
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2005
Since 2005, the company has once again been an auditing company following the appointment of Dr. Stephan Knabe as auditor.
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2011
The law firm Dr. Knabe GmbH Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft was founded in 2011 as the result of many years of successful cooperation with Alexandra Flieger.
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2018
Our company celebrates its 90th anniversary and we begin the construction work at our new office location in Potsdam’s Schiffbauergasse street.

Dipl.-Kfm. Dr. Stephan Knabe The business owner:
Tax Consultant, Certified Accountant

See how we make a difference.
Dr. Knabe is your single-source provider of comprehensive advice and for handling matters dependably.
Beruflicher Werdegang
- 2009
- Specialist consultant for international tax law
- 2007
- PhD in economics
- 2006
- Lecturer in international accounting, taxation and auditing at the University of Riga
- 2005
- Auditor
- 2004
- Certified Fraud Examiner – CFE
- since 2003
- Own company in Potsdam
- 2001
- Tax consultant examination
- 1998-2003
- KPMG, working in auditing and financial advisory services with duties in Germany, UK, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands
- 1992-1997
- Studied economics, business administration and business law at the University of Potsdam and the Free University of Berlin, graduating with a degree in business administration.
- until 1992
- Specialist School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Kleinmachnow

See how we make a difference.
Dr. Knabe is your single-source provider of comprehensive advice and for handling matters dependably.
Ausgezeichnete Qualität
Darauf sind wir stolz.
In order to optimize and monitor the quality of our services, we have introduced a quality management system (QM system).
QM – Certified System - ISO 9001
DIN EN ISO 9001 is an internationally harmonized standard that defines the requirements for a quality management system. Within this, the company has to set out which the measures are used to sustainably meet the requirements and expectations of clients and which resources are utilized to continuously review and improve work processes and structures.
Certificate as PDF documentQM – Reviewed by the German Association of Tax Advisers
In October 2011, we were one of the first tax consultancy companies in Berlin/Brandenburg to be awarded the German Association of Tax Advisers’ Seal of Quality for our company’s management system. Its requirements go far beyond those of DIN EN ISO 9001 because job-specific content must be included.
Certificate as PDF documentWith us, quality management means:
Client orientation
We gear ourselves to the needs of our clients. You determine the scope and the time invested. We place particular focus on clients’ individual requirements, with the aim of improving or securing their financial position.
Transparency
Transparent, standardized workflows and clear responsibilities create efficiency both for ourselves and our clients. The continual, structured flow of information between our company and our clients creates trust and light within the jungle that is taxation.
Qualifications
In order to meet the requirements of our clients and as a prerequisite for our high-quality standards, our employees possess a sound education, a high degree of technical knowledge and many years of experience. We ensure our employees’ professional, corporate and personal competence using a continuous training concept.
Quality assurance
We carry out extensive checks in order to review our work processes in the preparation of financial and payroll accounting, tax returns, annual financial statements or in the monitoring of deadlines and dates and in consulting services as well as to ensure the accuracy of the results of our work. To achieve this, we use individualized checklists and the principle that two pairs of eyes are better than one.
It’s great that we can help
Institutions we are glad to support
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Villa Ritz Kindergarten
Villa Ritz is a private kindergarten that has been offering loving and flexible childcare since 2007 for children from 9 weeks old until school age.
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Foundation Against Leukemia
The aim of the foundation is to give leukemia patients new opportunities in life. It helps to search for suitable donors and accompanies them before, during and after the donation. As a result, we save about 10 lives every year!
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Urban Green Foundation
Spending your whole day in an office makes you appreciate a healthy environment. The non-profit foundation for urban green spaces helps enhance the quality of life in Potsdam by renaturing abandoned production sites located within residential areas.
Visit website