Week Ten EOC; My Plan

During this quarter my knowledge on not only account, but excel have increased significantly. Although this particular course was meant for a hospitality ran businesses, I can definitely see how this would be applicable to all means of business. The majority of what I have learned could be put towards the majority of accounting needs throughout the fashion industry. I knew absolutely nothing about accounting at the beginning of this course but can now say I feel a lot more confident if I were needed to speak on the subject matter. I have also learned all sorts of excel tricks, which could be beneficial towards absolutely any types of work and maybe even running my own small business. As of right now, my plan is to once again, graduate and become a buyer. Although there is a lot of careers in the fashion industry that I would be more than happy with, I truly think a buyer is the position that suits me the most. It would be excellent to be a part of some type of internship prior to be hired so that I can gauge what type of requirements they must meet daily. I have the personality of wanting to see how something goes or works before I encounter it myself, so I believe that the chance of an internship would be highly beneficial to not only myself but my future career. I can only hope that this accounting knowledge I have learned will do the same. I have seen how expensive it can be to run a business and I think that is the one thing I have taken the most from this class.

Week Nine EOC; Book Question

If Dan and Loralei would decide to buy the restaurant, there would be some fixed costs that would come along the way. A fixed cost is a cost that "remains constant despite increases or decreases in sales volume (number of guests served or number of rooms sold) (Dopson 316)". One of the most common fixed costs for this property would be payments for insurance policies. These would remain constant and would have to be maintained if the property was owned. Another example, similar to the insurance policy payments, would be the property taxes. Then there are controllable fixed costs. "Good managers seek to decrease their fixed costs to their lowest practical levels while still satisfying the needs of the business and its customers (Dopson 318)." If Dan and Loralei were to decide to have music and entertainment for their business, this would also be a fixed cost but could be lowered if desired. The rental space in which the restaurant is located may also be a fixed cost. Lastly, the management salaries are a fixed cost. 

However, if Dan and Loralei choose to operate the restaurant some variable costs are also going to occur. "A variable cost is one that increases as sales volume increases and decreases as sales volume decreases (Dopson 316)." The top variable costs for them are going to be food and beverage cost. Cleaning, equipment, payroll and bank interest are going to be some other variable costs.

I think that Dan has a good point when he says that he can reduce the prices of the Watershed. Since they can get it at the right price, that will be a fixed cost that will not change. If they can get their variable costs down to where they need to be it will make more sense for them to obtain the business. I think Dan's ideas are going to be the most profitable because lowering the costs slightly will help to make that 7 cents loss on a dollar become more profitable.

Dopson, Lea R. Managerial Accounting for the Hospitality Industry. Wiley, 09/2008. [The Art Institutes].

Week Eight EOC; Question Four

Answers: 

a.   The total revnue for October 2009 was $545,000 and the total revenue for October 2010 was $583,000. Revenue is important because "ecommend special room restrictions (for example, minimum length of stay requirements) that serve to optimize the total revenue generated by the hotel during a specific time period (Dopson 289)".

b.  The GOP in dollars for October 2009 was $162,000 and the GOP for October 2010 was $184,550. "Gross operating profit (GOP) is, in effect, total hotel revenue less those expenses that are considered directly controllable by management (Dopson 296)."

c.   The percentage of GOP to total revnues in October 2009 was 29.72% and in October 2010 was 31.65%.

d.  The flow-through being achieved by Santi's hotel is 59.34%. This is higher than 50% so there are profits being made. "Flow-through is a measure of the ability of a hotel to convert increased revenue dollars to increased gross operating profit dollars (Dopson 296)".

Dopson, Lea R. Managerial Accounting for the Hospitality Industry. Wiley, 09/2008. VitalSource Bookshelf Online.

Week Seven EOC; Trump and Small Business

Donald J. Trump having won the 2016 election will have a large impact on not only business as a whole, but small businesses. Since having won the current election, several small business owners have been backing him up. In fact, some of the utmost generous donors to the Trump campaign were the small business owners. Trump is expected to start modifying President Barack Obama's health care, or Obamacare and is also going to undo some enviornmental regulations leaving small business owners incredibly positive about his win. One of the most important aspects that will be changing for the better, in small business owners eyes, is the tax changes."Business groups want to see benefits as well for sole proprietors, Roseberg and corporate shareholders whose business income is reported on their personal returns."(sdasd). Trump has been heavily advocating to lower the income tax by 15 percent on all companies. Right now these companies are being taxed at rates as high as 40 percent. This tax law will not be changed without Congress' approval, but with the new republican lead Congress this is looking like it may happen. Trade is also going to change and trump has been planning to renegotiate the North American Free Agreement trade which is currently governing the trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico. "He also wants the U.S. to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is awaiting approval from Congress. But he may face opposition from small-business groups" (Roseberg). Lastly, the minimum wage will be increasing which has be said to be hurtful towards small business companies but some have also said will help increase competition. "The approval of minimum wage increases in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and the state of Washington will likely add momentum to campaigns in other parts of the country" (Roseberg). 

Joyce M. Rosenberg | Associated Press. "Small Business Generally Upbeat about Trump Agenda." Albuquerque Journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

Week Six EOC; Weed in the Workplace

"Ten years ago, if an employee or intern came to work after spending time smoking marijuana, the employer had a simple solution: termination" (Nace). With the legalization of marijuana it is becoming significantly harder for businesses to control the use of it within the workplace. The first problem that can be run into is whether or not a drug test should be conducted since it is now legal."Generally, an employer is permitted to conduct preemployment, random, or reasonable suspicion drug testing provided it has an effective drug and alcohol policy" (Nace). This is causing further problems being that in areas where marijuana has been legalized it is becoming hard to find employees. I personally do not find drug testings prior to being hired necessary, although I do think that random drug tests throughout a employees employment has the potential to be beneficial to the company. If there is suspicion or an employee is suspected to be under the influence while working, they should be subjected to a drug test. Although marijuana is now legal, that should not make the drug permissable to use in a work enviornment. Any type of work whether being retail or the service industry, while being under the influence, could especially hinder a work performance."Showing up to the workplace and claiming that "it's legal" is generally not going to constitute a defense to a positive test" (Nace). Saying that marijuana is legal is not a valid argument to showing up to work high due to the fact that alcohol is also legal but you are not allowed to show up drunk.


http://www.naceweb.org/j022016/marijuana-drugs-in-the-workplace.aspx

Week Four EOC; Question Two

Answers: 

a. The change in cash increased and there for reflected a use of funds. It was increased by $14,000. The differences of sources and uses can be explained in the book by "One tool that can be used to help you identify money inflows and outflows of a hospitality business is to calculate its sources and uses of funds from its balance sheets from last period to this period. Sources represent inflows and uses represent outflows of funds for the hospitality business" (Dopson 147).

b. Net Recievables, "Money owed by customers to a business calculated after subtracting any amounts that may not be collectable" (Dopson 480), also increases resulting in a use of funds as well. The amount that it was increased by was $30,000.

c. Notes payable decreased which ended up becoming a use of funds increasing by $44,000. The book states that "Notes payable are short-term loans (less than a year). If you decrease notes payable by paying back money you borrowed, this is a use of funds for you" (Dopson 151).

d. The retained earnings, "Accumulated account of profits over the life of the business that have not been distributed as dividends" (Dopson 483), increased which resulted in a sourceof funds. This was incrased by $104,000.

e. The total amount of sources and funds ended up totaling to $743,000.

Dopson, Lea R. Managerial Accounting for the Hospitality Industry. Wiley, 09/2008. VitalSource Bookshelf Online.

Week Four EOC; Question Three

Answers:

a. Rachel's cash percent is at 3.7% which is half less than the averages of the chain. What this means is that Rachel is losing more money than the other chains are. "those who operate a business must consistently have sufficient cash on hand to pay their employees, their vendors, and the taxes owed by the business" (Dopson 117).

b. Rachel's inventories are 1% higher than the national average. The book defines inventories as "In the hospitality industry, inventories will include the value of the food, beverages, and supplies used by a restaurant, as well as sheets, towels, and the in-room replacement items (hangers, blow dryers, coffee makers, and the like), used by a hotel" (Dopson 124). This may mean she has more product avaiable on hand than other chains which will mean less spending in the next month.

c. Rachel's accounts payable percentage is a little over 1% higher than the chain's average percentages. This means she owes more money than the other chains typically would. This is important because "the most important sub-classifications of current liabilities include notes payable, income taxes payable, and accounts payable" (Dopson 126).

d.  Rachel's notes payable is also 1.4% higher than the chains averages which means she also has more money owed in this area than she should.

Dopson, Lea R. Managerial Accounting for the Hospitality Industry. Wiley, 09/2008. VitalSource Bookshelf Online.

Week Three EOC; Best Restaurant Experience

When I think about the best dining experience I have ever had, one restaurant comes to mind first and that is an Italian restaurant located in Saint Louis, Missouri called Zia’s. This particular restaurant is located in an area known as The Hill which is home to several Italian cuisine restaurants. There were several different aspects that have made this one of my favorite experiences. To start with, the entire atmosphere of the restaurant is phenomenal. Everything from the lighting, to the tables and floors gave off a spectacular vibe. I particularly remember having to wait somewhere around thirty minutes for a table but not being bothered at all because the waiting area was so lovely and the staff was so friendly. Once we were sat down we were introduced to our waitress who, like the staff in the front, was very kind. The service was also very efficient which is something that always makes my experience in a restaurant fantastic. I remember having ordered the baked seafood ravioli and being astonished at how fantastic it tasted for such a reasonable price. Prior to my meal I had also kept it simple and ordered the garlic cheese bread, which was by far the best I have ever tasted. The reason I remember this particular experience so well was because of how flawless every single step of the dining process was. Usually when I am dining out there is usually a consistency of mediocre service somewhere along the process but that did not happen at this restaurant and it remained that way all of the times I returned. Their slogan found on their website “Come to Zia's On the Hill and experience the true taste of Italy” is the perfect and straightforward message for their restaurant. This restaurant has left me with a lasting impression and forever stay as one of my “go to” places for Italian in my hometown of Saint Louis.


Zia's. "Zia's On The Hill." Zia's On The Hill. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Week Two EOC; Question Four

a .Lisa's Accrual accounting showed a higher net profit by $2,500.

b. Laura's Cash accounting is much more accurate and will show how much money has already been spent and a precise number of what is left. According to the book, accuracy is important because "Clearly, if the bookkeeping tasks of the servers, bartenders, kitchen staff, and managers of a restaurant, and the front desk, controller, and other staff of a hotel are not properly performed, the resulting financial data generated by these business’s accountants will not be accurate and decisions made based upon the numbers supplied are likely to be flawed as well."

c. The accounting method that most accurately shows expensive regardless of when they were paid is the accrual accounting. The reason for this lies with the fact that the accrual shows exactly what is happening throughout the expenses and even includes what has not yet been paid yet.

d. Again, similar to question c, accrual is going to be the most efficient due to the fact that it shows all expenses and tracks the ones that have yet to receive payment, which is going to show an accurate representation of expenses. Correlating with the book "the accrual system instructs accountants to record expenses when they are incurred regardless of when they are paid."

e. Laura's Cash Accounting format is much more accurate in terms of cash inflow. It will show the numbers for exactly what has been received in cash and which has not, which is something the Accrual form lacks. "Just as the going concern principle requires accountants to value a business’s assets at their purchase price, with few exceptions, it requires businesses to set the value of the items it intends to sell at the price the business actually paid for them."

f. Accural accounting is going to be the most accurate reflection of the restauraunt's profitiblity. The reason for this is the ability of this form to show a true understanding of the profits.

My Voice

Recently moving from Saint Louis, Missouri to Las Vegas, Nevada I have recently started a whole new life experience. Leaving my former school of Missouri State University to attend The Art Institute of Las Vegas I have high aspirations of moving my career in a whole different direction. Everything I have done has been centered on my love for fashion. I am currently working on my degree in Fashion Retail Management and gaining as much knowledge as possible to pursue my passion as a buyer. Growing up I have always had an immense love for fashion but never knew exactly which direction I wanted to take it. I began focusing on both the design and merchandising aspects of the fashion industry but have since learned that becoming a buyer is the right direction for me to take. The type of clothing that I appreciate working within is mixture of athleisurewear with streetwear. Brands that have influenced me towards this direction are Adidas Originals, Nastygal, Monki and combination of several others. I am still currently in the middle stages of finding my niche and exactly where I want fashion to take me. I am hoping there will be plenty of new life experiences to lead me there.

Week One EOC; Quiz Answers

Answers:

a. Is it legal?

No, Laurie using the sampling hot dogs for a back yard barbecue would be not legal because she is stealing company property for her own personal use. You must also consider whether or not it is permissible within the guidelines established by the company for which you work (Managerial Accounting for the Hospitality Industry 19).

b. Does it hurt anyone?

Yes, using the hot dogs given to her by the vendor for her own use in a backyard barbque is hurting the company. These are not her property to use and need to be used for the business, not managers use. "Discounts, rebates, and free products are the property of the business, not the manager" (Managerial Accounting for the Hopsitality Industry 19).

c. Am I being honest?

 Laurie is being extremely dishonest. If her actions were to be uncovered she could potentially be seen as dishonest and potentially diminish her reputation. Using the hot dogs for her barbecue instead of her business usage would affect her integrity as a professional.

d. Would I care if it happened to me?

Yes, I would most definitely care if an employee of mine was using business property for her own use. This would refelct poorly on the company and would promote the other employees of the company to take similar actions which would be illegal. "Your general manager would see it, other employees would see it, all of the other purveyors that you are going to do business with would see it, and even potential future employers would see it" (Managerial Accounting for the hispitality Industry 19).

e. Would I publicize my action?

No, If Laurie would be to publicize her actions she would be putting her job at risk. This would not be something she would tell her boss so it is extremely unethical.

f. What should be done with the two cases of hot dogs?

The two cases of hot dogs should be used by the business, not Laurie's personal use.