Accounting, Purchasing & Cost Control

Financial Position

• Exchange and value
• Capital
• Financial position
• Separate entity
• Assets and liabilities
• The balance sheet
• Types of assets and liabilities

Types of Financial Transaction

• Transactions and the balance sheet
• The duality of transactions and the money measurement concept
• Profit defined
• Types of expenditure: the capital/revenue distinction
• Generic types of transaction

Recording, Processing and Correcting Financial Transactions

• The double-entry system
• Periodic balancing of the books
• The trial balance
• Types of error
• The correction of errors

Preparing the Final Accounts

• Calculating profitability
• The trading and profit and loss account
• The accruals concept
• The balance sheet

Accounting for Fixed Assets

• Definition of fixed assets
• Depreciation of fixed assets
• Depreciation and the accruals concept
• Methods of depreciation
• Recording, processing and reporting depreciation in the accounts
• Accounting for the acquisition and disposal of fixed assets
• The consistency concept
• Intangible fixed assets

Accounting for Stocks

• Types of stock
• Stock valuation and profitability
• Control and verification of purchasing and receiving
• Stock control systems
• Stock valuation when input prices are changing

Accounting for Credit Transactions

• Cash and credit transactions
• Debtors and creditors
• Reconciliation of statements and ledger accounts
• Credit control
• Provision for bad debts
• Accounting, purchasing and cost control

Accounting for Cash

• The importance of cash management
• The cash book
• Bank reconciliations
• Till and takings management
• Credit cards
• The petty cash system
• Foreign currency exchange
• Ticket systems for cash sales
• Introduction to cash flow statement
• Cash and the accruals concept

Accounting for Employees

• The significance of employee costs in HTL businesses
• Remuneration methods
• The payroll system
• Accounting for employment costs
• Reporting employee costs

Accounting for VAT

• The principles of VAT
• Rates and scope of VAT
• Calculating VAT liability
• Completing a VAT return and paying VAT
• Accounting for VAT
• The mechanics of VAT for tour operators and travel agents

Accounting for Recreation and Leisure Clubs

• Types of recreation and leisure clubs
• The distinction between clubs and commercial organisations
• Sourcing of income for recreation and leisure clubs
• Measuring and reporting income and expenditure
• Preparation of final accounts and notes

Accounting for Multiple Ownership

• The partnership agreement
• The appropriation of profit
• Changes to the partnership
• Partnership dissolution and conversion
• Distinctive features of limited companies
• The final accounts of limited companies
• Corporate capital structure

Costing a Product or Service

• Expenses and costs
• Cost control and organisational structure
• The three main components of cost
• Calculating the direct material cost
• Calculating the direct labour cost
• Allocation and apportionment of overhead costs
• Calculating the total cost of a product in a multiproduct, multidepartmental business
• Accounting, purchasing and cost control

Pricing a Product or Service

• Pricing based on cost data
• Pricing decisions based on market conditions
• Pricing to optimise profit using cost and market information
• Pricing strategies in special situations

Accounting for Contribution

• The behaviour of cost and revenue against output
• Breakeven analysis
• Contribution theory
• The contribution/sales ratio
• Evaluating business alternatives
• Contribution theory and product-mix decisions
• Profit maximization where resources are limited
• Make-or-buy decisions

Planning and Budgeting

• Strategic planning
• The annual planning cycle
• Preparing individual budgets
• Cash budgets
• Master budgets
• Behavioural aspects of planning and budgeting

Standard Costing and Flexible Budgeting

• Monitoring performance against plans and budgets
• Responsibility for variances
• Flexible budgets
• A standard costing system
• Calculation of individual variances
• The profit reconciliation system
• The variance analysis report

Accounting for Capital Investment Decisions

• The long-term objectives of a business
• Capital investment
• Collecting data for project evaluation
• Evaluating capital investment projects
• Pros and cons of the four methods
• Qualitative factors in capital investment decisions

Interpretation and Assessment of Financial Information

• Ratios and comparative analysis
• Gross and net profit margins
• Primary performance ratios
• Return on Capital Employed (ROCE)
• Liquidity ratios
• Working capital efficiency ratios
• Efficiency ratios for the hotel industry
• Capital structure and the risk-return relationship
• Cost-volume-profit ratios
• Value-added ratios
• Other value-added ratios
• Weaknesses of ratio analysis
• Accounting, purchasing and cost control

Spreadsheet Applications in Accounting

• The value of spreadsheets
• Common commands and functions
• Preparing the final accounts of a theatre
• Preparing a product cost structure
• Pricing rooms using the Hubbart Formula
• Graphing the revenue and cost functions of a travel agency
• Graphing a breakeven chart
• Preparing a cash budget
• Examining alternative purchase options
• Comparing two hotels in two different market sectors