On a Monday in week four of the shoot, the art department is over budget and the line producer wants to know why. The production accountant already has the answer. Three set builds came in higher than quoted, two invoices were coded to the wrong line, and the rest is covered by savings in transport. The production accountant is the person who keeps track of every amount spent on a production and explains what it means.
What a production accountant does
A film or series is usually set up as its own small company, with its own bank account and books. The production accountant runs those books. They start in pre-production, set up the chart of accounts (the list of budget codes every cost is booked against) and agree with the line producer how purchase orders and approvals will work.
During the shoot they pay suppliers, check invoices, manage petty cash (small cash floats for daily purchases) and produce the weekly cost report. That report shows what has been spent, what is committed and the estimate for completion. After the shoot they close the books, prepare the final cost report for financiers and funds, and support the audit that many incentive schemes require.
Responsibilities
- Set up the bookkeeping, bank accounts and budget codes for the production
- Check, code and pay supplier invoices and purchase orders
- Manage petty cash floats and crew expense claims
- Produce the weekly cost report and the estimate for completion
- Work with the payroll accountant on crew and cast payments
- Report to financiers, the completion guarantor and funds
- Prepare the final cost statement and support the audit
How the role touches the budget
Every day. The production accountant does not decide how money is spent, but records every cost against the right budget line and shows where the production is heading. Their numbers tell the producer whether the contingency is safe. A cost report that is late or wrong means decisions are made blind.
How people become production accountants
Many start as an accounts assistant or payroll clerk on a production, often after training in bookkeeping or accountancy. Some come from a general accounting job and learn the industry on their first shoot. Larger productions have a team with a first and second assistant accountant, which is where most people learn the trade.
At a production company
At company level the same skills are used across all productions. There the financial controller keeps the company accounts, while each production keeps its own books. On commercials and smaller TV programmes one accountant often looks after many jobs at once.