IFT and the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, in the United States, co-organised in Macao on 20 and 21 June an Executive Development Programme on “Hospitality Financial Management: Operations Decision-Making”. The aim of the course was to provide industry professionals diversified opportunities for learning, and to enhance management quality of the local service industry.
The 2-day course attracted 25 professionals from local hotels and resorts. It focused on the application of financial management concepts to hospitality operations, including the use of several managerial accounting tools. The programme also placed emphasis on communicating and interpreting financial data from a general manager-level perspective.
The course was led by Mr. Michael Flannery, a member of the executive education faculty at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration. He is a regular consultant to the hospitality industry and related businesses across the world, and over the course of his career has managed hotels and restaurants.
IFT President Dr. Fanny Vong says financial management is a topic of growing importance in the Macao hospitality sector. “We get comments from hospitality industry professionals who think that, especially with thinner [profit] margins nowadays, it is even more important to focus on more effective ways to manage financial operations,” she says.
Dr. Vong notes most of the course participants came from the financial management departments of local hospitality firms. She says that, apart from the professional knowledge acquired, the course gave participants some time away from their daily routines, allowing them to reflect on their respective company operations. “This, I believe, is crucial as well,” she says.
Another key objective of the course was to allow participating executives to exchange information and meet other industry professionals in order to develop their professional network.
“There are participants who are at the top of the management ladder, but also those who are mid-ranking management staff, as well as people from other areas. Through this kind of interaction among peers, and with Mr. Flannery present, I think participants found new ideas and ways of thinking that can be brought back to their daily operations,” says the IFT President.
Ben Leong, Vice President and General Manager of Sands Macao, was one of the professionals attending the programme. He says that during the course participants were able to learn and explore new analytical methods of financial management. “This elevates our thinking to the next level,” he says.
“We need [access to] new knowledge to help us optimise our job and to teach our team. Without further education and more courses, we cannot achieve this. It is especially in a fast-growing industry that we need more professors and lecturers to come over to Macao to teach us new theories, strategic ways of thinking and management skills,” the executive says.
“Through learning new tools, we are definitely going to benefit,” he added.
The next IFT Executive Development Programme will take place on 22 and 23 August. It will focus on staff management.
