British Association of Hospitality Accountants (BAHA)

BAHA – the UK's leading educational organisation for professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT within the hospitality industry, which officially is to change its name next month to HOSPA – is now recruiting for the September 2011 cohort of its highly acclaimed Education & Training Programme in Financial Management (ETPFM).

Aimed at accounts personnel, food & beverage managers and aspiring financial controllers, this flexible-learning programme takes just 18 months to complete all three Stages; and has been designed to enable students to solve problems in their workplace as part of their assessed coursework. There are no formal qualifications needed to join the programme - just good numeracy and English language skills are required.

"The ETPFM programme can provide a 'win, win' situation for both employers and individuals undertaking the programme," explained Debra Adams, BAHA Head of Membership and Education Services. "For a hospitality business, the programme allows employers to enable employees of the future, providing a means of rewarding and recognising those with potential. This will lead to better trained staff with improved skills and knowledge, which in turn will help improve business performance. For candidates, the programme will improve their confidence in their job through greater understanding of the accounting function – providing a first step in gaining a professional accounting qualification, with exemption from further study with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) or the Open University."

The costs for undertaking the BAHA ETPFM are £750 (ex VAT) for each stage of study, which includes two years free BAHA Ordinary Student membership. Further details about the programme, or BAHA's – soon to be HOSPA's – other education programmes in Revenue Management and IT, can be found on the Association's website:

http://www.baha-uk.org/etpfinance.asp . Applications can either be made online by completing the membership application form at http://www.baha-uk.org/howtojoin.asp or by contacting BAHA on telephone: 01202 889 430; or emailing Jane Scott at [email protected] or Debra Adams at [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

1. Hospitality Industry endorsements of the BAHA Education & Training Programme in Financial Management include:

Patrick Divall, Area Director of Finance, England and Director of Finance, Starwood Central London Hotels, said:

"I totally support the BAHA ETP. It is the only financial training programme that is specifically designed for our industry and my employees appreciate that it is 100% relevant to them. Acceptance on the programme is highly motivational and employees who have undertaken the course are always identified as high potential colleagues. In addition, the benefit to Starwood Hotels & Resorts is clear to see as we have better trained employees who can understand the whole picture, rather than just their own job function."

Alan Higgins, Financial Director, Portland Hotels, said: "Working towards achieving a thorough understanding of the financial and control aspects of our business is of critical importance in today's economic climate. I believe the industry will face many more challenges over the coming years and by investing our combined resources now in key staff the anticipation is that we will develop the "next generation" who will have the ability to direct and shape successful business units. Our ethos is that it is as much about developing the individual as the processes that surround them in their day to day working environment. Our success here is a combined effort and has only been possible with the dedication and enthusiasm of the control teams. You will note that I say a combined effort - I view BAHA as a hugely important contributor to all that we do in this area and without them none of what we have achieved would have been possible."

2. About BAHA, officially to become 'HOSPA' in September 2011 | BAHA is a non-profit educational organisation, formed in 1969 with the aim of bringing together those hospitality industry professionals involved in financial management, revenue management and IT. Since its inception, the membership has expanded to almost 1,000 members and is recognised as the UK's authoritative voice in the hospitality industry on financial management, technical accounting issues, taxation, and hotel valuation. BAHA is also the leading arena for debate on hotel systems and Revenue Management topics through their annual Conference and meetings programmes. BAHA, which provides industry specific hospitality focused qualifications in Financial Management and IT, is currently developing a similar qualification for Revenue Management.

Following a specially convened BAHA Extraordinary General Meeting in May 2011, BAHA members overwhelmingly voted and approved the name change to 'HOSPA' – the Hospitality Professionals Association. The new name will be accompanied by a flexible strap-line that will define the membership, and can be adjusted to allow for any future changes in finance and other commercially related roles within the hospitality industry. On 19 September 2011, there will be a formal launch in London of HOSPA (venue to be finalised) where its objectives, new identity (including logo and strap-line), the new HOSPA fully interactive website, and the first President of HOSPA will be unveiled and introduced to the UK hospitality industry. Until the official launch in September, the Association will remain known primarily as BAHA.

BAHA Chairman Paul Dukes explained why the BAHA Council took the decision to give the Association a new identity. "Finance in the UK hospitality industry has changed markedly since BAHA was formed over 40 years ago," he said. "It is not only the sector that has changed, but also the way it functions – from the emergence of IT in hotel management, guest services, administration, and guest-room technology, to raising finance and the new approach to maximising room revenues – to name but a few examples. BAHA has developed accordingly – continually seeking to provide cutting-edge knowledge; and greater opportunities for personal development, education, meetings, debates and special events for its membership, helping them to enhance skills, networking and employment potential. In 2009, recognising the increasing inter-dependence of finance, revenue management and IT professionals, the BAHA Council and members took the decision to enable revenue management and IT professionals to become full members of BAHA. Already this has had a positive impact on our membership, as highlighted at last year's highly successful BAHA Annual Conference and IT Exhibition which attracted a record attendance. Now, BAHA would like to encourage much wider membership and professional opportunities for all; and the BAHA Council believes that the change in the Association's name to 'HOSPA' – together with a new distinctive logo and flexible strap-line – will more accurately reflect our rapidly growing membership and their professionalism within the hospitality industry." For more information, visit www.baha.co.uk

Julian Demetriadi
+44 1725 552835
HOSPA