Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals will honor Miller at the 2015 Annual Convention & Tradeshow
AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA (October 6, 2015) — Ralph R. Miller, CPA, CA, CBV, CHA, CHAE was selected as the 2015 Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) Paragon Award recipient for his unwavering support of HFTP and the continuing actions to increase knowledge sharing and growth of the hospitality industry. Based in Calgary, Alb., Canada, Miller is president of Inntegrated Hospitality Management Ltd. Miller will be presented with the prestigious Paragon Award, established to recognize individuals who have made a significant and lasting contribution to both HFTP and the hospitality industry, during the 2015 Annual Convention and Tradeshow annual business meeting and awards luncheon on Friday, October 23 in Bellevue, Wash., USA.
After being asked what being a Paragon Award winner meant to him, Miller responded, “WOW, to be the 20th recipient of this award; identified by my colleagues and peers as having made a recognizable contribution to both HFTP and the hospitality industry, I am humbled to be considered worthy and in the same company as [previous winners].”
Miller began his career at Coopers & Lybrand where he earned his Chartered Accountant (CA) and Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) designations. From there, he went on to lead the Western Canada Hospitality Industry Practice at Coopers & Lybrand (PricewaterhouseCoopers). In 1997, Miller co-founded Inntegrated Hospitality Management Ltd., providing third-party consulting and management services for clients. Impressively, he has been involved with more than 40 management turnaround, restructuring and repositioning engagements in addition to providing expert witness testimony in both the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Court of Queens Bench in Alberta.
Miller is well-known for his involvement with the 11th Revised Edition of the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI) which he co-authored. He was also instrumental in the development of HFTP’s Global Hospitality Accounting Common Practices (GHACP) database. Both are fundamental resources which accounting professionals around the globe can utilize to structure financials for performance comparisons and successfully complete their job duties.
Of his work with the USALI, one nominator noted, “He was always not only willing, but eager, to accept additional responsibilities for areas of the work that were not his direct responsibility. I could not name another committee member who contributed more effort than Mr. Miller.” Further adding that Miller’s “contributions to the hospitality industry have not come without some personal sacrifice and expense.”
In addition to his accomplishments above, Miller is a Global Past President of HFTP, member of the Financial Management Committee (FMC) of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, member of HFTP’s International Evaluations Council, and past Chair of the Membership Committee for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.
Miller insists that “one of the more important things that I have learnt along my HFTP journey is the power of collaboration. I have accomplished very little on my own in comparison to what I have assisted in accomplishing as part of high-quality HFTP and industry committees.”
HFTP established the annual Paragon Award in 1999. Paragon Award nominees can be HFTP members; representatives of industry-related associations, societies or trade publications; or leaders from hospitality businesses, educational institutions and other related disciplines. The recipient is selected by a panel of fellow hospitality industry experts.
Previous Paragon Award winners include Alice Banks, CHAE (1999); Henry "Buddy" Weeks, CHAE (1999); Frank Santos, CHAE, CHA (2000); Katherine Cavanagh, CHAE (2001); Raymond Schmidgall, PH.D., CPA, CHAE (2002); Frank Wolfe, CAE (2002); Len Bartello, CPA, CHAE, CHTP (2003); John J. Cahill, CHA, CHTP (2004); Wendy Zurstadt, CPA, CHAE, CHTP (2005); Richard Braa, CHAE (2006); Robert Patasnick, CPA (2007); George Glazer (2008); Agnes DeFranco, Ed.D., CHAE (2009); Stephen LeBruto, CPA, CHAE, Ed.D. (2009); and Steve Doherty, CHAE, CHTP (2010); Frank Agnello Jr., CMA, CHAE (2011); Howard Field, FBHA, FCA (2012); and Joseph McInerney, CHA (2013).
For more information on the Paragon Award, contact the HFTP Communications Department at publications@hftp.org or +1 (512) 249-5333.
