Accommodation Management-I BHM-502CT
Uttarakhand Open University 81
Verifying accounts entries and balance
Identifying vulnerabilities/ weaknesses in an accounting system
The keyword to internal control is auditing, which is the process of verifying front
office accounting records for accuracy and completeness. Each Financial transaction
produces paperwork which documents the nature and amount of the money of the
transaction.
For example, the transaction that occurs when a guest charges a meal to his or her
account folio may be supported by the restaurant‟s guest check, cash register tape, and
charge purchase voucher. The voucher is prepared and sent to the front office as
notification of the transaction. A front desk agent, in turn, retrieves the guest‟s folio,
posts the charge purchase transaction, and files the folio and voucher. Later that day,
the night auditor ensures that all vouchers have been properly posted to accounts
discrepancies may be easier to resolve if complete documentation is readily available
to substantiate account entries.
Below are some forms that are of extreme importance to internally control, one of the
most vital assets in the hotel (i.e. cash):
Front office cash sheet: The front office is responsible for a variety of cash
transaction, which may affect both guest and non-guest accounts .proper cash
handling procedures and controls must be established, implemented, and
enforced.
The front office cash sheet records each cash receipt or disbursement in order
to reconcile cash in hand, at the end of a cashier's shift, with the documented
transaction that occurred during the same shift. It provides separate columns to
record transactions affecting guest accounts, non-guest accounts(or city
ledgers) and miscellaneous transactions
Cash banks/ Imp rest/ Cash Float: A second set of front office accounting
control procedure involves the use of cashier banks. Cash bank is an amount of
cash assigned to a cashier so that he/ she can handle the various transactions
that occur during the shift. At the beginning of each shift, all cashiers must
sign their cash banks and at the end of the shift, shall deposit all cash, checks,
and other negotiable instruments in the general cashier's safe deposit box.
Moreover, at the end of each shift, cashiers should watch out for cash
discrepancies (i.e. any difference between front office cash sheet and the actual
amounts in their cash drawers). Cash discrepancies might have the form of
cash overages, shortages, or due backs. Lastly, cashiers might come up with
the net cash receipt, which is:
Amount of all cash, checks, and other negotiable instruments in
cashier‟s drawer – amount of the initial cash bank + all paid outs
Audit control: A number of audit control measures are used to ensure that the
front office staff properly handles cash, guest accounts, and non-guest
accounts. Therefore most of the hotels have internal audit as well as external
annual audits performed by independent certified public accountants. This is
done to ensure that all accounts are being properly handled by the staff
concerned. In both cases, a report is prepared and completed for management
and ownership for their review.