Junior Staff Accountant

Highgate; HMS Bounty (FL); On-site; USD 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Highgate Hotels is seeking a Junior Staff Accountant to support the Director of Finance in maintaining accurate financial reporting and internal controls for The Elser Hotel & Residences in Downtown Miami. The role focuses on payroll, income audit, and accounts receivable processing and collections.

Responsibilities include daily financial reporting, time and attendance, and monthly journal entries. Proficiency in Windows, Excel, Word and Opera PMS is preferred.

Qualifications

• Experience in hotel accounting or hospitality finance is preferred.
• Proficiency with Windows, Excel and basic Word required.
• Experience with Accounts Receivable and Payroll is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and process daily financial reporting and deadlines.
• Handle payroll processing and related tasks monthly.
• Manage Accounts Receivable, credit, and collections workflow.
• Enter and reconcile invoices, deposits, and revenue postings.
• Assist in month-end close and internal control procedures.

Skills

Windows

Excel

Word

Accounts Receivable

Payroll

Opera PMS

Communication

Hospitality experience

Education

College courses in accounting or related field

Tools

Opera PMS

Job description

Compensation Type

Yearly

Highgate Hotels

Highgate is a premier real estate investment and hospitality management company widely recognized as an innovator in the industry. Highgate is the dominant player in U.S. gateway markets including New York, Boston, Miami, San Francisco and Honolulu, with a rapidly expanding presence in Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Highgate’s portfolio of global properties represents an aggregate asset value exceeding $20B and generates over $5B in cumulative revenues. The company provides expert guidance through all stages of the hospitality property cycle, from planning and development through recapitalization or disposition. Highgate also has the creativity and bandwidth to develop bespoke hotel brands and utilizes industry leading proprietary revenue management tools that identify and predict evolving market dynamics to drive out performance and maximize asset value. With an executive team consisting of some of the industry’s most experienced hotel management leaders, the company is a trusted partner for top ownership groups and major hotel brands. Highgate maintains corporate offices in London, New York, Dallas, and Seattle.

Location

The Elser Hotel & Residences is a 49-story luxury condominium hotel located in Downtown Miami. The newly completed tower offers 646 fully furnished rooms/residences, over 19,000 square feet of curated amenities and 5,000 square feet of prime retail space. Named after the iconic Elser Pier, which was built in the 1900s and became the premier place for locals and visitors to enjoy the magical shoreline of Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami, The Elser Hotel & Residences will continue this tradition.

Overview

The Junior Staff Accountant is responsible for assisting the Director of Finance and Assistant Director of Finance in maintaining accurate and timely financial resporting; ensuring acceptable levels of internal control; ensuring compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations and Highgate Hotels Standard Operating Procedures; and safeguarding owners/investors assets. For this role, the emphais is placed on the management of Payroll, Income Audit and Accounts Receivable processing and collections

Responsibilities

• Monitor, prepare, and communicate financial reports in accordance with Highgate Hotels required due dates.
• Income Audit including entering information into the BiPortal on a daily basis.
• Utilize and maintain time and attendance system and process, daily, weekly, and bi-weekly payroll and related information to include verifying payroll information, recording earnings/deductions., etc.
• Prepare and input all required payroll journal entries.
• Maintain responsibility for the daily Accounts Receivable credit, billing, and collection process.
• Monitor payment requirements on groups or functions and process deposits.
• Approve or decline credit requests.
• Complete collection calls on each appropriate outstanding accounts and maintain collection files on each outstanding issue.
• Review and approve the City Ledger transfers daily and communicate to supervisor any deviation from established Accounting policies and procedures.
• Handle customer inquries in a professional and timely manner, provide customers with accurate invoices, statements, and schedules.
• Process returned checks and credit card chargebacks.
• Conduct monthly credit meetings and maintain minutes (including returned checks/chargeback logs, credit trace reports, write-off, bad debt allowances, etc.)
• Partner with the Sales and Events Team by establishing customer credit, including but no limited to application processing, reference checks, credit limitation, direct billing list, and deposit requirements.
• Maintain an efficient collection process to include organized filing and tracing system, issuing letter, monitoring returned checks and charge backs, performing collection calls and preparing bad debt write-offs.
• Update daily revenue reports both for internal distribution and corporate distribution.
• Monitor guest ledger, advance deposit ledger and any other related ledgers to ensure proper internal control.
• Keep management aware of any unusual operation or financial occurances and/or significant deviations.
• Reconcile invoices against ledgers or schedules to ensure accuracy of invoicing.
• Assist in the monthly close process by posting journal entries that are related to daily/monthly responsibilities.
• Ensure overall guest satisfaction by attentive listening and then immediately resolving guest issues or elevatiung to the Director of Finance or General Manager.
• Cross-Train in other areas within the Accounting Department including accounts payable.
• Ability to identify root causes of issues that may affect staff or guests and provide actionable and measurable solutions to improve efficiency, overall work environment, and/or guest experience

Qualifications

• Collegecourses in an associated orrelated fieldand/or related experience in an Hotel or Hospitality environment
• Must be proficient in Windows, Microsoft Office (Intermediate Excel and Basic Word)
• Accounts Receivable and Payroll experience is preferred
• Hotel PMS Opera is preferred
• Flexible and long hours sometimes required, especially during the last and first few days of the month
• Sedentary work - Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects.
• Maintain a warm and friendly demeanor at all times.
• Must be able to effectively communicate both verbally and written, with all level of employees and guests in an attentive, friendly, courteous and service oriented manner.
• Must be effective at listening to, understanding, and clarifying concerns raised by employees and guests.