Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

SECTION REVIEW AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Section Objective:
Review the role of the night auditor in accounting for guests
and non-guest charges, in reconciling charges with applicable department rev-
enues, and in generating reports and safeguarding confidential data.
Section Summary:
Night auditors may be responsible to the FOM in small proper-
ties or to the controller in larger hotels. Regardless, their work involves the same
major responsibilities: to compile, balance, and review a hotel’s financial accounts
on a daily basis. Modern PMSs are programmed to complete much of the night
audit, and this is very helpful because in large hotels thousands of financial trans-
actions occur daily.
The night audit is divided into two main parts. First, guest charges must be
reviewed to determine the new balance after the amount previously owed is
adjusted by any purchases and payments. A similar type of reconciliation is
required for financial transactions conducted by individuals who are not regis-
tered guests. It is important to confirm that revenues generated by hotel depart-
ments are accounted for by posting charges to guest folios or city ledgers. Second,
FIGURE 3
Sample job description for night auditor.
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