What should hotels look for in their financial management system then?Handling currency complexityRapid globalisation means that hotels are likely to report in more than one currency. Thus it would be a tremendous help if hotel accounting software can handle multiple currencies. However, it is worth noting that currency translation is not as simple as it looks. Complexity arises when different categories of exchange rates are required depending on circumstances. This is especially problematic when hotels have to follow more than one set of accounting and business rules. Handling multiple languagesEven though English is the default business language globally, it is not necessarily the case that everyone in an organisation grasps all English terminology and statutory reports, especially those that handle day-to-day operations. They are more likely to do the work in their own language. Moreover, different countries have different units of measurements and formats, which need to be reported as well. Hence, it is vital that hotels’ financial management software can handle all of these. Handling multiple entitiesA hotel chain with various branches in different countries or jurisdictions has the extra workload that entails complexity. As a helping tool, a hotel financial management system should be capable of consolidating results from discrete entities for statutory reporting and tax purposes. In other words, it should help the mother company and its subsidiaries keeping track of one another’s financials without interfering with their various legal structures.Supporting multiple charts of accountsAccording to Ventana Research 2011, “maintaining multiple charts of accounts may prove to be both simpler in the long run and more productive” despite some saying that it is best to have one chart of accounts only. The rigid approach of a single chart of accounts is especially unsuitable for companies with different lines of businesses, those in joint-venture arrangements or those acquiring businesses in different countries. Thus, accounting software for hotels should be able to handle simultaneous charts of accounts.Handling multiple calendarsIt is a fact that businesses around the world do not operate on the same fiscal year. To save time from having to recast figures into different calendars, hotels with multinational operations should implement a financial management system that can create local, regional and consolidated reports as needed for management or statutory purposes.Handling tax complexitiesFor hotels operating in various countries, their accounting software should be able to handle the complexities associated with different tax regulations and help defending tax audits. Apart from addressing issues such as multiple entities, charts of accounts, calendars and depreciation schedules, their system should be configured to be tax-aware. In other words, it should provide hotels with automated maintenance of rules and rates.Reporting using multiple accounting standardsGAAP, IFRS and local accounting standards require different accounting treatments. Thus, accounting software for hotels should allow different books for recording transactions under these various accounting rules. Automating the process from closing these books to creating financial statements and reports using multiple accounting standards also helps hotels save time and effort without risks of errors.Supporting different levels of corporate reportingA multinational hotel’s accounting system should be able to create a consolidated headquarters view as well a consolidated statement of several subsidiaries at an intermediate level. Management should be able to view and analyse these reports right at the source.Supporting global accessFinancial management software that allows web-based access can help hotels avoid incurring costs from installing the system individually at all branches or at branches with limited on-premise support. Having a system that can be installed locally, deployed centrally and accessed globally gives hotels a competitive advantage without compromising security and reliability.
More than half of IT professionals believe that data consolidations and storing is very important for a business. Although almost all agree with it, the vast majority have no plans to consolidate at all. Meanwhile only "a quarter" have completed with consolidation projects. As we have stated previously in past class discussions, the cloud technology/computing/storing is a software that has revolutionized the technology industry. Cloud technology has allowed companies to access and store information, and even share it, in a much quicker and cost-efficient way. Seemingly, still many believe it may be too soon to trust 100% on cloud technology, since security is a big issue. Yes, they are monitored periodically; but hackers nowadays can accomplish a lot. Thus, resulting in a security challenge for many IT professionals. Among many other reasons, companies seem to lack the required staff to implement these methods. Although IT professionals believe in it, at this moment it is too hard to achieve.
It's interesting that they think that consolidation is important yet do little about it. Keeping data safe is critical. To get to my e-mail for work when not at the facility, it requires the 8-digit pin that's in my head, plus a 6-digit key from the secure ID that I carry. That 6-digit code changes every thirty seconds, and the device contains enough codes for five years. If someone is logging in to look at my mail, they can be reasonably confident that it's me, Staff is definitely critical, which explains why so many IT jobs are available these days. If you have all of the IT initials (MCSE,CompTIA, etc) after your name, it's a good time to be in the industry.
