Financial Controller: The Financial Controller (FC) will be responsible for managing the day to day operations of the accounts department, like preparation and management of the hotels financial budgets, implementing and overseeing all activities relating to the financial aspects of the hotel in compliance with the local tax laws and also by the hotel’s SOP’s.

Accounts Payable: A key area in accounting, accounts payable ensures that all bills are paid on time and all discounts are taken minimizing the costs of the hotel. Accounts payable clerks work closely with the purchasing department to verify that all invoices to be paid are indeed invoices of the hotel.

Assistant Controller: In a big hotel, you may see one, or a few, assistant controllers. In smaller hotels, there may not be any. The controller divides the various functions to be performed so that the workload will be even. For example, one assistant might be responsible for daily transactions while another works on special projects, budgets, analyses, and the like.

Guest and City Ledgers: A hotel keeps two ledgers: the guest ledger is associated with the guests staying at the hotel while the city ledger contains all other billings. It is important that the accounting department has a person in accounts receivable working with the city ledger so the hotel is able to bill and collect revenues due.

Night Audit / Income Auditor  / Accounts Coordinator: Night auditors get their name because of the hours they work. At the end of the day after most hotel guests have retired, these auditors begin recording charges to guests’ accounts and verifying the revenue for the hotel. However, with computers and various technologies, the hotel industry can post charges instantaneously. Some hotels have actually changed the night auditors to become day auditors.

Banquet Auditor: Besides revenues charged to guest rooms, a large hotel earns the bulk of its food and beverage revenues through banquets. The banquet auditor’s function is to verify the correct revenue for billing. This individual works closely with the banquet staff, the sales office staff, and the accounts receivable clerks.

Credit: A big hotel may have its own credit manager whose function is to check and grant credit. In today’s business world, many transactions are done on credit rather than cash or cashier checks. It is, therefore, the credit manager’s responsibility to conduct such investigations to be sure that a person or company is creditworthy.

Food and Beverage Controller: This is a fun and challenging position, as it has both accounting and food and beverage components. While performing all analyses of food cost percentage, yields on meat, and menu costings, the food and beverage controller also works with the chef to design new menu items, taste new products and even be a mystery diner to taste-test the menus in other food service establishments.

Front-Office Cashiers: The duties of a front-office cashier are often incorporated with the front-office personnel. When guests check out, it is the duty of these cashiers to charge the guests the correct amount and secure a form of payment.

General Cashier: Pause for a minute and think how many cash banks there are in a large hotel: a few at the front office, at least one in the restaurant, at least one in the gift shop, and so on. The general cashier is the person who is in charge of all the cash banks in the hotel. He or she also makes all deposits of checks and credit card receipts.

Operations Analyst: This is a nice position to have in a hotel. An operation analyst performs analyses to help managers operate the hotel more effectively. From guests’ statistics to revenue trends, the operations analyst does it all. However, not all hotels are able to afford an analyst on the payroll. If this is the case, an assistant controller often performs these duties. For smaller hotels where there is not an accounting office on the property, this function is done at the regional level.

Payroll: Payroll employees calculate the pay rate with the hours worked to do the payroll so paychecks are released on time. Payroll functions also include filing all payroll taxes and tip credits for tipped employees, as well as keeping track of vacation, sick pay, and other payroll-related deductions.

Systems Manager: A systems manager is not depicted in the Illustration above. Since the various accounting functions cover the entire hotel operation, the systems manager or systems analyst, whose job is to take care of all technical issues, is normally founded within the accounting department. In a smaller hotel, the controller or an assistant controller may take on this responsibility. Normally, this position is found at a regional or corporate level and systems analysts will be dispatched to assist the property when needed.