The hospitality sector is a fast-growing industry all over the world. The rapid globalization of the world, the increasing ease of transportation and the improvement of the standard of living of the people across the globe are some of the reason due to which there is a growth in the hospitality sector all over the world, but no matter the nature or size of the company, in the end, every company needs to deal with numbers and financial figures.
In case of the hospitality sector, many jobs need to be tracked such as keeping track of all the guests, recording the total sales done, paying the salary of all the hotel employees, recording and analysing all the transactions made and many others. To perform these jobs correctly, it is required that the management avails the services of a specialized accountant.
Roles and Duties of the Accountant
The hotel accountant tries to manage the financial books of accounts of the hotel and allocate the resources to proper departments. Some of the critical responsibilities of the hotel accountant are given below:
1.Preparation and Maintenance of Reports
The hotel accountant must record, analyse, record and maintain the reports of the various transaction that are being done in and by the hotel. Keeping a history of the payment method of the client, the services of the hotel used by him and the various other charges levied by him should be meticulously kept by the accountant. These records can be brought back up in the future and can be analysed to find potential opportunities.
2.Providing Comparisons
The recording and the analysis of the various transactions will allow the management to make comparisons with their previous selves and also with their competitors in the market. By making comparisons, the management can find out where is it lacking and what are the potential opportunities for the company.
3.Providing Forecasts
With the easy availability of financial data, the company will be able to gauge the present trend in the market and can also decide for a direction the company needs to go to. Proper forecasting services will allow the management to understand what extra work needs to be undertaken. The forecasts will also enable the administration to be ready for the possible future of the business.
4.Preparation of the Budget
Budget preparation is an essential activity that needs to be performed by all businesses. An accountant finds out the variation in the expected numbers and the actual results. This analysis of the financial amounts will allow the accountant to prepare a report stating the number of resources that can be allocated to a particular department. The preparation of the budget will enable the management to focus on those departments of the company which need a boost.
5.Cash Flow Statements
Cash flow can be defined as the total amount of funds that are required by a company on a day to day basis. Preparation of the cash flow of the hospitality business is one of the crucial work performed by the accountant. The proper analysis of the cash flow will help the accountant to understand where the cash is being generated and where the money is being spent. The appropriate management of the cash flow will help the company to be solvent and survive for a long time.
- Paying the Salary of Employees
The accountant will play a massive part in the employee management of the hospitality business. The number of employees in the hospitality business is too much. A hotel can have front desk staff, housekeeping staff, chefs and many other designations and employees. Keeping track of all these employees and the other payroll services of the employees is an essential job that is being handled by the hotel accountant.
7.Help the Management in Filing Taxes
As the accountant will be privy to much financial information of the company, the accountant can significantly help in the filing of the taxes and other vital reports as mentioned by the government. The accountant can file for taxes and can avail the various benefits by preparing the financial statements of the company beforehand.
8.Finding the Occupancy Rate
The Total Occupancy and the Daily Rates of a room in a hotel vary from time to time. The total money made depend significantly on these two factors. The higher the occupancy rate of the hotel, the better. An accountant will continuously keep track of all the rooms that are booked, and this will allow the management to allocate the rooms properly to the customers.
Future of Hospitality Sector in the UAE
The UAE government has an understanding that to diversify the economy of the country, they need to stress more on the non-oil sectors. This, combined with the fact that tourism is one of the booming industries in the country, has guided the government to decide to uplift the hospitality business.
The effect of the governments’ initiatives is evident as the direct contribution of the hospitality and tourism sector saw an increase by more than a 100% and the employment generated due to the increase was almost 120%. The government expects that by the year 2026, the GDP of the country will increase by nearly 75%.
Therefore, it will be safe to assume that the hospitality and tourism business is set to boom very soon. If you have a business already set up in the hospitality sector and your company requires auditing and accounting services, then you should avail the services of “JAXA Chartered Accountants”.
We at “JAXA” offer various services such as audit and assurance services, statutory audit services and provide Business Advice and Financial Planning. For details regarding our services, contact us, we would be happy to help.
