personal project - research accounting department

ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT

In many hotels, the accounting department combines staff functions

and line functions, or those functions directly responsible for servicing

guests. The accounting department’s traditional role is recording financial transactions, preparing and interpreting financial statements,

and providing the managers of other departments with timely reports

of operating results (line functions). Other responsibilities, carried out

by the assistant controller for finance, include payroll preparation, accounts receivable, and accounts payable (staff functions).

Another dimension of the accounting department’s responsibilities

deals with various aspects of hotel operations, cost accounting, and

cost control throughout the hotel. The two areas of central concern

to the accounting department are rooms and food and beverage. The

accounting department’s front office cashier is responsible for tracking

all charges to guest accounts. At the close of each business day,

which varies by hotel but typically occurs at midnight or after the bulk

of guests’ transactions have been completed (i.e., check-in, restaurant

charges, retail charges, etc.), the night auditor is responsible for reconciling all guest bills with the charges from the various hotel departments.

Although the front office cashier and the night auditor

physically work at the front desk and, in the case of the cashier, have

direct contact with guests, they are members of the accounting department and report to the assistant controller of operations.

The food and beverage department may be responsible for food

preparation and service, but the accounting department is responsible

for collecting revenues. The food and beverage controller and the

food and beverage cashiers keep track of both the revenues and expenses of the food and beverage department. The food and beverage

controller’s job is to verify the accuracy and reasonableness of all food

and beverage revenues. In addition to tracking and preparing daily reports on the costs of the food and beverages used in the hotel, in many cases the accounting department is also responsible for purchasing and storeroom operations.

Finally, the director of systems is responsible for designing

the accounting and control systems used throughout the hotel. As you

can see, the accounting department is anything but a passive staff unit

contending with routine recordkeeping. The accounting department

is also responsible for collecting and reporting most of a hotel’s operational and financial statistics, which provide important data for decision making and budget preparation purposes. The head of the accounting department may report not only to the hotel’s general

manager but also to the hotel chain’s financial vice president or to the

hotel’s owner. The reason for this dual responsibility and reporting relationship is to afford the hotel corporation an independent verification

of the financial and operating results of the hotel.

personal project - research

I found this video in the internet. it is a old video but it briefly talk about the role of different department. It can be a summary of my research and i found it quite interesting.

personal project - research resident manage

Resident manage

An executive may be promoted to relieve the general manager of some operational duties. This is often accomplished by elevating the duties and responsibilities of one particular department head without relieving that person of regular departmental duties. The title of this position is usually resident manager. It is quite common (and logical) for the general manager to select the manager of the rooms department to be resident manager. Responsibilities of the resident manager include serving as acting GM in the GM’s absence, representing the GM on interdepartmental hotel committees, and taking responsibility for important special projects such as major hotel renovations, VIP guests, and operating reports that require in-depth analysis for the regional or corporate offices.

personal project research

GENERAL MANAGER

In addition to being in charge of overseeing all of the departments that we have discussed, the hotel’s general manager is responsible for defining and interpreting the policies established by top management or corporate parent, sets (or communicates) the overall strategic course of the hotel, sets hotel-wide goals, coordinates activities between departments, and arbitrates interdepartmental disputes. It is common practice in a large, full-service hotel for a director of public relations to report directly to the GM. The GM also has corporate-level responsibilities, participates on civic boards and committees, and engages in industry-related activities such as serving on the local tourism commission or hotel-motel association. In addition to possessing a high level of technical skill (i.e., a thorough understanding of each operating department in the hotel), the general manager must also be decisive, analytical, and skilled with both computers and people. He or she must be able to see the big picture and how all of the parts of the hotel fit into the overall organization

personal project - research

 Accounting department

The accounting departmant combines staff functions

and line functions, or those functions directly responsible for servicing

guests. The accounting department’s traditional role is recording

financial transactions, preparing and interpreting financial statements

and providing the managers of other departments with timely reports

of operating results (line functions). Other responsibilities, carried out

by the assistant controller for finance, include payroll preparation, accounts

receivable, and accounts payable (staff functions).

Another dimension of the accounting department’s responsibilities

deals with various aspects of hotel operations, cost accounting, and

cost control throughout the hotel. The two areas of central concern

to the accounting department are rooms and food and beverage. The

accounting department’s front office cashier is responsible for tracking

all charges to guest accounts. At the close of each business day,

which varies by hotel but typically occurs at midnight or after the bulk

of guests’ transactions have been completed (i.e., check-in, restaurant

charges, retail charges, etc.), the night auditor is responsible for reconciling

all guest bills with the charges from the various hotel departments.

Although the front office cashier and the night auditor

physically work at the front desk and, in the case of the cashier, have

direct contact with guests, they are members of the accounting department

and report to the assistant controller of operations.

The food and beverage department may be responsible for food

preparation and service, but the accounting department is responsible

for collecting revenues. The food and beverage controller and the

food and beverage cashiers keep track of both the revenues and expenses

of the food and beverage department. The food and beverage

controller’s job is to verify the accuracy and reasonableness of all food

and beverage revenues.

In addition to tracking and preparing daily reports on the costs of

the food and beverages used in the hotel, in many cases the accounting

department is also responsible for purchasing and storeroom operations.

Finally, the director of systems is responsible for designing

the accounting and control systems used throughout the hotel. As you

can see, the accounting department is anything but a passive staff unit

contending with routine recordkeeping. The accounting department

is also responsible for collecting and reporting most of a hotel’s operational

and financial statistics, which provide important data for decision

making and budget preparation purposes. The head of the accounting

department may report not only to the hotel’s general

manager but also to the hotel chain’s financial vice president or to the

hotel’s owner. The reason for this dual responsibility and reporting relationship

is to afford the hotel corporation an independent verification

of the financial and operating results of the hotel

personal project - research human resources department

HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

Human resources department serves no customers, books no business,and prepares no meals, yet it plays a vital role in a hotel’s efficient operation. As shown in hotel structure, the three functions of the human resources department are employee recruitment, benefits administration, and training. The director of human resources is also expected to be an expert on federal and state labor laws and to advise managers in other departments on these topics. The human resources department’s major challenge is in its interactions with other hotel departments.

Although the human resources department recruits, interviews, and screens prospective employees, the final hiring decision rests within the department in which the potential employee will be working.

The same is true of promotion and disciplinary decisions; the human resources department’s input is, in most cases, limited to advice and interpretation of legal questions. The human resources department’s effectiveness depends on its manager’s ability to form effective working relationships with managers of other departments

personal project change name

After researching and consulting of my supervior, i think the tittle of my project should be ' how do the differnt department of a hotel work? '. This title will be more specific for the reader to understand about what i am trying to do. It also helps me to clarify the information that i want to add in my personal project . So that i won't write out of topic.