What you need to perform it
Primary qualification
- Degree in Business Administration, Finance and Accounting or Economics; international lines value professional accounting certifications such as ACCA or CIMA (as a guide).
- Command of hotel accounting — the sector reference standard is USALI (Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry) as adapted by each line (as a guide).
- Valid seafarer medical certificate per flag.
Basic STCW
- STCW Basic Safety Training (A-VI/1) to sign on.
- Crowd Management (A-V/2) per muster list (Regulation V/2, passenger ships).
- Security awareness training (A-VI/6-1).
Specific courses
- The line’s onboard management and account system: Oracle Hospitality Cruise (Fidelio Cruise SPMS), POS and its accounting module.
- Anti-money laundering (AML) applied to the casino and the cash office: reporting thresholds and red flags per the operator’s programme (as a guide).
- Internal control and audit: cash-count procedures, segregation of duties and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)-type controls in US-listed groups (as a guide).
- Payment means: PCI DSS compliance for cards and management of passenger-account chargebacks.
Indicative experience
As a guide: 3-5 years in hotel or corporate accounting and 1-2 onboard contracts as assistant purser/accountant before the controller position. The role handles dozens of cost centres, dual-signature counts and end-of-cruise closes against the calendar; errors are measured in hours of delayed disembarkation.
Observations
Typical route: assistant purser / crew purser → chief purser → Financial Controller → Hotel Director (see profile) or shoreside fleet financial control. Works side by side with the HR Manager and Crew Coordinator (payroll and contracts) and with the Chief Security Officer on cash or fraud incidents. Professional judgement: onboard cash is a permanent risk — per-till limits, surprise counts and dual custody in the casino are not bureaucracy but the line of defence; cross-border cash movements above EUR 10,000 are additionally subject to declaration in the EU (Regulation (EU) 2018/1672 — as a guide, port-dependent).
What this role does
A large cruise ship is a business invoicing millions per week across dozens of revenue centres and thousands of individual accounts. The Financial Controller squares it all: every cabin charge, every casino count and every payslip for a crew of dozens of nationalities. The role works to hotel accounting standards and within the group’s internal control framework — for US-listed operators, Sarbanes-Oxley-type controls — and this signature is what validates the figures sent ashore.
Typical watches
- Administrative day with daily revenue closes, end-of-cruise closure on the last itinerary day and surprise cash counts
Key responsibilities
- Keep the ship’s operating accounts: revenue by centre (shops, bars, casino, spa, excursions), main cash office and daily reconciliations.
- Run the onboard payroll: advances, crew settlements, gratuities and remittances, in line with MLC 2006 employment agreements.
- Audit the revenue centres: cash counts, shrinkage control, verification of discounts/comps and dual-custody casino counts.
- Manage the main safe, currencies and exchange: cash limits, secure transport in port and movement reporting.
- Close and settle the cruise’s passenger accounts and report the statements to corporate financial control on the line’s closing calendar.
Operational scope
- Purser’s office and main cash office
- Revenue centres: shops, bars, casino, spa, excursions
- Reception for charge disputes and account settlement
Profile reviewed by HydroAbyss (2026). Cited rules and timeframes are indicative: the final requirement is set by the flag State, the Administration and each company.