In preparation for the release of the 12th revised edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI), Hospitality Financial and Technology Professions (HFTP) and the Global Finance Committee (GFC) have asked leading industry stakeholders to review and provide feedback on exposure drafts, the first of which is a new section titled “Energy, Water, and Waste” (EWW) which aims to improve the monitoring and benchmarking of EWW cost and usage.
The Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) was first published in 1926 with the aim to provide recommendations to the hospitality sector on the layout of operating statements and management reports. Over the years the USALI has been revised and updated with the most recent 11th edition published in June 2014.
In October 2018, the Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals (HFTP), the US based membership body for those working in commercial roles in the sector, purchased the copyright
to the USALI from the Hotel Association of New York and started to plan the next update. Then in October 2019 HFTP announced that with the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), they had formed a co-sponsored committee that would update and
expand the current USALI edition to include both U.S. and international accounting standards.
In order to achieve this, HFTP formed a new Global Finance Committee (GFC) which is comprised of an impressive group of financial leaders from across a range of hotel brands, operators and owners. It is hoped that the new 12th edition will become the standard for financial and operating reporting for the lodging industry globally.
In preparation for the release of the 12th edition, HFTP and the GFC have asked leading industry stakeholders to review and provide feedback on exposure drafts, the first of which is a new section titled: “Energy, Water, and Waste (EWW)”.
The new section builds upon the Utilities Schedule 9 in the 11th edition and enhances it to become the new EWW of the 12th edition. The proposed changes have; reclassified Waste expenses from the Property Operations and Maintenance Schedule to the Energy, Water and Waste (EWW) schedule, with the intention to position the metrics together in one place; Energy and Water have been expanded to include more detailed metrics and descriptions; and the new section will offer new EWW metrics to align with existing industry metrics, all of which are intended to improve the monitoring and benchmarking of EWW cost and usage.
Being able to measure the hospitality industry’s impact on the environment is essential to reach the goal of achieving Net Zero, the more detailed metrics and descriptions proposed in the exposure drafts will provide the industry with a framework to help progress towards this goal.
HFTP and GFC will release subsequent drafts every two to three weeks through January 2022 and plan to ‘present corresponding summaries and webinars on these updates to keep the industry at large informed of the process’.
If you are interested in learning more about the USALI click on the link below to take a look at our upcoming online course or send us an email at hello@arena4finance.co.uk.
All successful candidates from the course will be able to do a bridging course to update their knowledge with the developments and changes within the 12th edition.
arena4finance regularly provide training support for recognised industry bodies including the Institute of Hospitality, the MasterInnholders, TUCO and the European Clubs Association. Debra Adams, founder of arena4finance and a qualified accountant, has been involved with the hospitality industry for almost 30 years and has delivered courses and training to numerous organisations in the hotel and restaurant sector including world renowned hotel schools such as Ecole Hotelier Lausanne and Glion Institute in Switzerland. She is the author of the highly acclaimed textbook 'Strategic Management Accounting for the Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Industries'. She is also a regular speaker at hotel conferences and business seminars. Debra leads the team at arena4finance, who have had many years of experience developing and delivering one day, online and more extensive courses in hospitality finance for both finance professionals and operational heads of department in hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities. Our courses are powered by our online learning community resources at www.finance4hospitality.co.uk For more information about arena4finance, email hello@arena4finance.co.uk or visit our website www.arena4finance.co.uk.
Photo courtesy of Towfiqu Barbhuiya - Unsplash