Chapter List

Overview

Learning objectives

After studying this chapter, you should have developed an appreciation of:

1. The financial management implications of key hospitality industry characteristics

2. The nature of financial management

3. Some of the ways hospitality managers become involved in financial management

4. What is meant by the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry

5. The focus of this book.

Introduction

This book describes financial management procedures and analytical techniques in the context of hospitality decision making. The purpose of this introductory chapter is to set the scene for the remainder of the book.

The next section of this chapter describes key characteristics relating to the hospitality industry and outlines financial management implications associated with these characteristics. Next, an overview of the nature of financial management and its relationship to accounting is provided. We will see how financial management is closely related to accounting, as accounting information represents a key resource extensively drawn upon in financial management decision making. In the course of describing the nature of financial management, the overall structure of the book will be introduced. We will see that Chapters 2 4 provide a grounding in hospitality financial accounting and Chapters 5 12 introduce a range of topics that show how financial management techniques and procedures are critically important to a host of hospitality decision-making situations. The chapter s subsequent section highlights some of the many ways that different hospitality managers can apply financial management techniques and...