Hospitality & Tourism

The tourism industry is one of the major pillars of the Maltese economy, employing thousands of persons. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Malta every year, whether for pleasure or for business. This creates career opportunities with hotels, travel agencies, restaurants and many other businesses that work with people from all over the world.

The list below is an example of some of the roles which are available within this industry. Studying accounts as a subject can aid you to follow a career path which leads to one or more of these roles, amongst many others.

General Manager

A General Manager would lead the management team of a business (for example, a chain of hotels), which would in turn, lead all the members of staff which keep the business running. They (she/he) would be expected to improve the way the businesses operate, oversee budgets, manage staff, and enhance the business relationship with authorities or other major stakeholders.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

The CFO is an accountant and the ‘right hand’ of the General Manager as they (she/he) are responsible for managing the financial resources and forecasting the future financial standing of the business based on the operational data, and the financial reports which are prepared by the Financial Controller and the accounting department. The CFO is essential in that they advise the General Manager and the Board of Directors on the strategic direction that the business should take based on a variety of information, such as the business’ profitability and cash flow, as well as market threats and opportunities.

Financial Controller

The Financial Controller is an accountant who heads the accounting department and assumes full responsibility for tracking the general health and profitability of the business through the preparation and management of timely financial reports. Under the leadership of the Financial Controller, the team of accountants within the department would manage different functions of the business to ensure that incomes (via sales) and expenditures (such as salaries and payments to suppliers) are received and paid in a timely manner, and this information is passed on to the financial controller. Another role of the Financial Controller is to monitor the cash flow and makes recommendations to the CFO on the future strategy of the business.

Head of Operations

A Head of Operations usually reports to the General Manager and is responsible for overseeing the daily administrative and operational functions of a business. Such areas generally include the logistical and operational elements and how these relate to other departments such as finance, sales, marketing, and human resources. Their (her/his) role also includes cooperation between these different functions and finding a compromise in case of differences between them.

Internal Auditor

The business might employ an Internal Auditor; a professional who is independent from management to check the processes and the systems which are in place by the business. A business would have a process for buying products, for developing new services, for recruiting new staff, for managing its stock levels, and so on. The role of the Internal Auditor would be to review and test processes and provide recommendations, depending on the objective of the business, such as becoming more efficient or transparent.