I was having a great conversation a few weeks ago with the owner of a small hotel here in Antigua and mentioned that we offer internal audit services. This hotel owner declared that they have a part-time night auditor so they really don’t need an internal audit person as well!
Well to say the least I was shocked!
Then I realized that maybe many hotel owners do not realize what each role comprises of or they may be confused as to why both are needed.
So, let’s look at each person’s role below:
Hotel Night Auditor
The hotel night auditor performs a variety of duties during the night shift and can be utilized as the hotel’s representative during those hours.
He or she is responsible for closing out the daily financial activities of the hotel as well as reconciling them. Hotel night audit procedures usually vary with the type or size of property and can cover duties from front desk to customer service to maintenance duties.
Other duties include:
- Reconciliation of the day’s cash transactions, house reports and reservations from the previous day.
- Reconciliation of the cashier reports from restaurant and retail outlets and close out of credit card transactions.
- Ensuring that the hotel staff correctly report revenue and financial transactions.
- Handling guest requests and complaints and housekeeping and maintenance issues that arise during the night shift.
- Following hotel procedures for reservations, check-in and credit card transactions.
Because the night auditor performs a variety of duties, he is responsible for clearly communicating the night’s activities and transactions to the morning shift to ensure seamless customer service. He is also responsible for delivering reports, bank deposits, cash and credit card receipts to the proper hotel department for processing.
Granted the night auditor’s duties are extremely important both for daily verification of transactions and for the easy transition between shifts.
Let’s look at what a hotel internal auditor’s role would consist of.
Internal Auditor
Within the hospitality industry as within any industry, businesses are exposed to many areas where losses and frauds can occur and internal audits are designed to check that the necessary systems and controls are in place to minimize such occurrences, and that they are operating efficiently.
Internal audit encompasses all facets of the operations of the hotel including:
- Accounting & Finance
- Food & Beverage
- Human Resources
- Front Office Operations
- Materials Management(Productions & Stores Inventory)
- Payroll
- Maintenance
Within these different departments as internal auditors our major responsibilities, among others, will include:
- Evaluating reasonable assurance that the management and control of risk and the company’s governance systems are functioning as intended and enables the organization’s objectives and goals to be met
- Reporting any deficiency in internal controls
- Identifying any risk management issues
- Providing recommendations for improving the company’s operations
- Evaluating the Company’s compliance program
- Providing the link between the Company and the External Auditor
- Providing or supporting continuous education and development for the staff
- Supporting the company’s anti-fraud and anti money-laundering programs.
So even though the duties of both positions may overlap each other, both are equally important and both are indeed necessary within the hotel industry. And both can even be outsourced or part-time positions!
If you’re an hotelier or know one that could benefit from an internal auditor on their team, encourage them to seek out one.