I sent out the following tweet during the Money Matters track seminar today:
“This may sound funny to you, but … Ralph and Robert make me excited about accounting reporting standards. #HFTP”
My statement is only funny to my non-finance followers, of course. If you are active in HFTP, you understand what I’m saying.
Ralph Miller, CPA, CA, CBV, CHA, CHAE of Inntegrated Hospitality Management and Robert Mandelbaum of PKF Hospitality Research spoke on the “Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI); Update on the 11th Revised Edition.”
The presentation was more exciting than the title.
Ralph made an important distinction as he began the presentation: the 11th edition gives guidance for standardized Operating Statements. It does not necessarily change or address the Income Statement, only the reports that help management make decisions. Once you look at the changes from that perspective, implementation is less daunting. Now I can focus on formatting report structures and not feel like I need to change my chart of accounts.
My golden nugget takeaway from this session was a web site address: https://ahlei.org/USALIResources/
This is a helpful portal that shares information and downloadable items to help you understand and implement the changes. There are recorded webinars that review key changes, as well as Excel files that give examples of Statements, Operating Metrics, and a Revenue and Expense Guide. There’s also a link where you can send a question to the Financial Management Committee.
One of my fourth quarter projects will be rebuilding our management reports. The seminar and resulting web site give me solid support.
John Grigas, CHAE, is the controller of the Madison Concourse Hotel and Past President of the Greater Milwaukee Chapter. He regularly tweets during conferences via @johngrigas. 
