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Abstract
The purpose of this research was to examine the managerial and finance roles of casino controllers. Controllers were surveyed and interviewed about the current state of their role within their companies. A survey was given to 60 casino controllers attending the casino controllers' conference at the Monte Carlo Resort in Las Vegas on March 16, 2000. Interviews were conducted with five casino controllers to obtain qualitative information that could not be obtained through the questionnaire. The results provide detailed information on the role behavior of casino controllers and their contribution to organizational goal attainment.
Keywords: controller, controllership, interpersonal roles, informational roles, liaison
Introduction
Today's controllers are transcending their conventional accounting roles as mere "number crunchers" and guardian of the company's assets. They are going beyond functional roles to contribute in such areas as minimizing costs, improving efficiency and consequently adding value to the organizations (Messmer, 1999). A role is defined as an organized set of behaviors belonging to an identifiable office or position (Mintzberg, 1973). The perception of the roles of controllers is that of a chief accountant who supervises and maintains the formal corporate records (Wilson and Colford, 1991). Role ambiguities and role conflict that have arisen with respect to the reporting structure of the controller constitute points of controversy. The question of whether the controller should be responsible to the corporate financial executive and work for the general manager, or whether the controller should be responsible to the general manager, working under laid down policies and methods prescribed by the corporate financial executive, remains unresolved. There seem to be no clearly defined boundaries to the controller's role in business. The scope of the controller's job is not confined to the basic accounting, reporting, and control functions, although these functions are regarded as universally acceptable to controllers (Gibson, 1998).
The purpose of this study is to examine the various roles of casino controllers in the gaming industry. Specifically, this study proposes to determine controller functions within casino operations and the impact they have on the finance department. Today's casino controllers must help their hotels in planning, organizing, directing, and measuring integrated relevant data into the financial reports. Proper integration and monitoring of these functions are essential to the growth and profitability...