The Hindu Business Line : Nights are dark and deep but auditors are far from sleep

THE motto of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India exhorts CAs to be awake when others sleep. That is a metaphorical maxim so most auditors would sleep when others sleep, except perhaps the night auditors. These professionals are peculiar to the hotel industry, where to check the guests' accounts and verify receipts and payments occurring during the day, they take charge from the front office billing clerk around midnight.

Since occupancy of rooms is continually in a flux, postponing verification might discover discrepancies much after the guests have left. If you are interested in "an A to Z guide on hotel audits", read V. S. Vadivel's A Handbook on Audit of Hotels, published by Book Corporation (bookcorp@ onlysmart.com).

The author presents scores of checklists and guidelines in the chapters that deal with operational aspects, audit of stock, report under I-T Act and so on. He also lists points that are relevant under various heads, to get to know the industry better. Thus, "rooms generally constitute the biggest source of revenue", giving 60-65 per cent of the gross revenue. From a costing angle, "contribution from this source could be more than 70 per cent due to low variable costs."

On bars, there is the sober discussion: "Note that wines and beers are generally sold only in bottles, whereas spirits are also sold in pegs. A small peg measures 30 ml and a large one, 60." When you find an auditor at the bar, he might, for all you know, be remembering his lessons on internal check, because "the bar in a hotel is normally managed by a barman who is responsible not only for issuing bottles of wine and beer, pouring alcoholic drinks and mixing cocktails, but also for maintaining proper stocks thereof."

A book to include in your menu of reading list.

Extract more from time

WHAT is given in equal measure for everybody? What is it that goes only in one direction? Time. You can't increase it, but can learn to spend it effectively. John Adair gives practical tips in Effective Time Management, published by East West Books (Madras) P Ltd (ewb@vsnl.com). "A sense of time as transitory is deeply human," writes the author. "As we advance in life, we acquire a keener sense of the value of time." But there is also the paradox of too little and too much. The very people who complain of time shortage may often be worried about boredom, "not knowing what to do with time."

Number one time-waster, according to the book, is procrastination, a word that has its roots in Latin for tomorrow. "Start now by doing something today that you have been putting off.

It may be a small or large matter: an overdue apology; a confrontation with a low performer; a meeting with your boss; or an unpleasant task you know you should tackle."

The trick is that "the most difficult job of the day may not turn out as fearsome as you imagined."

Daily routines may sound too drab but they are the occasions to exploit. A few tips from Adair: When getting dressed, don't rush up, but do it in a relaxed manner, listening to something important.

Also, "shaving time is remarkably productive in ideas." How about a reading stand on the exercise bicycle?

Set apart time for time management.

Know your people

RATNA Sen's Industrial Relations in India looks at changes in the field of IR over the last 20 years. The book, published by Macmillan India Ltd (www.macmillanindia.com), discusses the usual topics such as trade unions, wages, and collective bargaining, as also the more contemporary ones on knowledge workers, VRS and quality.

Typical knowledge worker responsibilities include defining requirements to accomplish goals, allocating resources, analysing data, providing guidance, gathering and disseminating information, writes Sen.

The knowledge worker should be able to work in teams, local or virtual; work with information which provides competitive or beneficial advantage; use IT for day-to-day activities; and work in areas which have a direct impact on the bottomline. "At the same time, knowledge workers would have behaviour and expectation patterns very different from common manufacturing or even service sector workers in traditional industries." Therefore, "for managers in such companies, a good understanding and appreciation of knowledge worker sensitivities would be essential for managing them."

As if to remind accountants of what they are yet to come to terms with, "knowledge management is all about organisations realising that they have assets that have never before appeared in their balance-sheets and are vital indicators of their future prospects. Those hidden assets are people and what they know and how they use what they know."

What could shock readers is that "a study of a recent mine disaster in eastern India found that there were at least nine different knowledge gaps."

A book to fill up the IR knowledge gap.

Cans, not can'ts

DON'T get trapped in arguments you cannot win. "Pick your fights. Confront others only when you can predict at least a draw". Use English effectively. "Don't say, `Can I help you?' when you mean `may'." Be honest with your feelings. "When you feel victimised, say so right away. Delaying the message only makes the eventual confrontation more difficult and increases your anger and frustration."

Be prepared to play the role of a referee. "Don't take sides; the antagonists need to have confidence in you and trust that you will remain impartial. Your role should be that of facilitator, not judge." When you find your best performers showing limited performance, it is time to motivate them.

"Whenever any superior, peer, or customer compliments your subordinates to you, tell your employees what was said." Customers deserve not just good service but exceptional service. "Listen intently to complaining customers, and solve their problems quickly, generously, happily, thankfully, and remorsefully."

Your family would need your love. "Show an interest and get involved in activities that are important to others in your family." Work can be a fulfilling experience. "Expand your capabilities; learn new skills. Enjoy the feeling that you can do your job as well as anyone has ever done it."

Never allow cynicism to overpower you. "If your cynicism turns into clinical depression, seek professional counsel. Signs of depression are a loss of interest in work, family, or fun; insomnia or excessive sleep; overeating or loss of appetite; acute sorrow or plunging self-esteem; and fatigue."

If you find these prescriptions to be `laser-accurate', there is a whole bunch of "1,200 inspiring ideas for work, home and happiness" in Yes, You Can! by Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman, published by Magna Publishing Co Ltd (www.magnamags.com).

A big can of ready-to-implement tips.

Phrases that perform

SO YOU are sitting with a stack of yearly appraisals to do of your subordinates and scratching your head for the right words. Douglas Max and Robert Bacal have put together "hundreds of ready-to-use phrases that describe your employees' performance" in a handy book titled, Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews, published by Tata McGraw-Hill (www.tatamcgrawhill.com).

Seventy-four skill areas — "from accuracy to initiative to productivity to time management skills — are covered and managers can "choose phrases from five performance levels" — outstanding, exceeds expectations, meets expectations, needs improvement and unacceptable.

Thus, on `attitude or approach to work', if your employee is `outstanding' you can choose from one of the suggested six, such as: "cordial and happy to help; comes to work 15 minutes early each day; always upbeat and optimistic; and enthusiastic and energetic."

If it is an `unacceptable' type you are dealing with, what can come handy are: "aloof; pessimistic; presence often creates tension in group; and frequently criticises others."

At the end of the book, there are `ten mistakes managers make when conducting performance appraisals' including ones such as "cancelling or postponing appraisal meetings, measuring or appraising the trivial, forgetting appraisal is about improvement, not blame, and comparing employees with each other." Likewise, there are seven mistakes employees make during appraisals.

To know these, however, you would need to read the book.

Tailpiece

"When one of the almirah legs gave way last month, I used your old Advanced Accounting book to prop it up."

"How bad you didn't tell me all along! You know it was my favourite pillow!"

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
Can a director be guided to the secretary's chair?

Oil majors on a roll, but there's no `rollover'

Solution to `problem employee' is not a sack order

Employee loyalty is out but involvement is in

Business-a-verse

Nights are dark and deep but auditors are far from sleep