What comes to mind when you hear about finance and accounting? Most people would answer with ‘money’ or anything related to it. Although not entirely wrong, there are deeper aspects to the finance and accounting field than just monetary matters, especially in the hospitality industry.
In hotels, finance and accounting is one of the core departments with the main task of recording and maintaining financial records and monitoring the performance of the hotel’s business. Without this department, it would be difficult for a hotel to achieve sustainable, let alone successful, business.
Today’s blog article will take you to explore the realm of the finance and accounting department in hotels, starting from its importance and roles, to promising career paths in the field, and recommended financial and accounting software for you to learn!
The Functions of Finance and Accounting Department in Hotels
As stated earlier, the finance and accounting department in hotels is responsible for handling financial records and monitoring the hotel’s financial performance. This function is further specified into five different functions, all of which will be detailed below!
1. Financial Accounting
Financial accounting.
The first function of the hotel’s finance and accounting department is financial accounting! It involves recording and reporting financial transactions such as revenue, expenses, and profit. Such data is necessary for decision-making and maintaining the operational state of the hotel!
2. Cost Accounting
Cost accounting.
We know just how important it is for any business, including hotels, to know its expenses. Hence, the finance and accounting department performs the cost accounting function to record and report those expenses. This helps in understanding what has been purchased, who purchased it, and why it was purchased.
3. Tax Accounting
Tax accounting.
As a business, it is mandatory for a hotel to fulfill its tax obligations. The finance and accounting department has a tax accounting function, which includes recording taxes and filing tax payments to the authorities.
4. Auditing
Auditing.
Financial records and procedures in a hotel must be verified to avoid unusual activities or discrepancies. The function of the finance and accounting department that handles this matter is called auditing, which must be performed carefully and thoroughly!
5. Managerial Accounting
Managerial accounting.
Last but not least, the function of managerial accounting allows the finance and accounting department to make important financial management decisions for the hotel, ensuring that the business operations run seamlessly.
Now that we have learned about the five functions of the finance and accounting department in hotels, the next question is: who are the individuals specifically responsible for performing those functions? Well, you just need to scroll down to find the job positions in the finance and accounting department in hotels!
Finance and Accounting Jobs in Hotels
The importance of the finance and accounting department results in its job positions being regarded as strategic and promising, drawing many hospitality job seekers to pursue careers there. If you are one of those interested in working in this area, check out some of the finance and accounting jobs in hotels that we have listed below!
1. Director of Finance and Accounting
Director of finance and accounting.
As the top level of a hotel’s finance and accounting department hierarchy, the director of finance and accounting is responsible for overseeing the entire department and ensuring that every staff member performs their tasks correctly. In hotels, a director of finance and accounting usually reports to the general manager.
2. Purchasing Manager
Purchasing manager.
A purchasing manager works closely with external suppliers. Some of their tasks involve sourcing and purchasing new goods for the hotel, verifying the goods are of high quality, negotiating partnership deals with brands, and ensuring contracts between the hotel and external suppliers.
3. Cost Controller
Cost controller.
Just like its name, a cost controller’s task is to control the hotel’s cost. Specifically, they ensure the cost of purchased goods is correct, as per the contract and on par with market prices. Most cost controllers in hotels are mainly responsible for food and beverage supply costs, and they work closely with the purchasing manager.
4. Finance Controller
Finance controller.
Meanwhile, the finance controller controls the day-to-day operations of the hotel’s finance and accounting department. Some of the tasks involve preparing and managing the hotel’s financial budget, ensuring the hotel is in compliance with local tax laws, as well as tracking the hotel’s fixed assets.
5. Payroll
Payroll.
Payday must be one of every hotel staff’s favorite days! However, did you know what position is responsible for the payment of salaries and wages to hotel employees? The role belongs to payroll! Aside from that, payroll is also tasked with putting together individual payslips, calculating their taxes, and establishing the final payment amount.
6. Accounts Payable
Accounts payable.
An accounts payable’s job can be said to be a straightforward one; they pay hotel invoices due to other companies, such as but not limited to goods suppliers, service providers, or bills and taxes issued by the government.
7. Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable.
The opposite of accounts payable is accounts receivable! Instead of paying the hotel’s invoices, this position’s main duty is to send invoices from the hotel to other companies and ensure they are paid accordingly.
Every finance and accounting job requires a sense of responsibility as well as great capability. That’s why it is important to continuously seek new knowledge or skills in this area. For instance, you can improve yourself by mastering the financial and accounting software used in hotels, which you can read about in the next section!
Hotel Finance and Accounting Software to Learn
Hotel finance and accounting software to learn.
Working in a hotel’s finance and accounting department involves the use of software technology too! As such, mastering one or more software would be an advantage that adds to your overall capabilities. Up next, we have compiled a few hotel finance and accounting software for you to learn!
- M3: Ranked first in the 2023 HotelTechAwards for Finance & Accounting Software category, M3 provides lots of features ranging from forecasting, budgeting, and even business intelligence.
- PVNG by Aptech: This software can handle both single and multi-property accounting easily! PVNG also has a simple menu structure which makes it suitable for learning.
- Inn-Flow: Inn-Flow is a complete back-office management system that is able to handle various functions such as the hotel’s accounting, labor management, procurement, and sales.
- IDeaS RevPlan: As a revenue forecasting and budgeting tool, this software helps hotels enhance productivity, increase profitability, and make smarter operational forecasts!
- Omniboost: Renowned for its all-in-one feature, Nimble Property streamlines the hotel’s financial accounting and minimizes the bookkeeping process for finance and accounting staff members!
Wrapping Up
The finance and accounting department deals with the monetary aspect of hotel operations, making its existence crucial. Such a significant role also makes finance and accounting deemed as a complex field with greater work responsibilities compared to other hotel departments. Even so, jobs in this area have always been popular career routes in the hospitality industry, with opportunities scattered widely!
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