Film Crew Position: Production Accountant

Production accountants are involved from pre-production through final delivery. Their responsibilities span financial planning, daily transaction management, payroll compliance, and post-production reporting.

Building and Maintaining the Production Budget

Before cameras roll, the production accountant collaborates with the line producer and UPM to build a detailed budget from a script breakdown. This involves estimating costs for every department: camera, art, locations, visual effects, post-production, and structuring them into a top sheet and supporting schedules. The budget becomes the production's financial constitution; everything else measures against it.

As production progresses, the accountant maintains the budget as a living document. When a department overspends, they flag it immediately. When scheduling changes alter labor costs, they model the impact before it becomes a problem. A skilled accountant finds savings in one area that protect the schedule in another.

Cost Reports

The weekly cost report (also called a production cost report or PCR) is the single most important document the accountant produces. It compares actual spending to the approved budget, line by line, and projects the estimated final cost (EFC) for each account. Producers and studio executives rely on cost reports to make real-time decisions: add a shooting day, cut a location, or call in additional financing. The accountant owns this document entirely.

Accounts Payable and Receivable

Every invoice that arrives on a production flows through the accounting department. The accountant or assistant accountants review each purchase order against the budget, code it to the correct account, and authorize payment. On large productions, this can mean processing hundreds of invoices per week, from catering and equipment rentals to visual effects vendors and location fees. Managing cash flow precisely is essential: productions routinely operate on tight disbursement schedules tied to financing draws.

Payroll Processing

Film and TV productions employ dozens to hundreds of people, many of them covered by complex union agreements (SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE, Teamsters). The production accountant coordinates with the payroll company to ensure every crew member is paid correctly, on time, and in compliance with their applicable agreement. This includes tracking overtime, turnaround violations, rest period penalties, and fringe benefit contributions. Non-union productions require equal diligence to avoid wage-and-hour violations.

Purchase Orders and Petty Cash

The accountant issues and tracks purchase orders (POs) across every department. Each PO authorizes spending up to an approved amount; it is the paper trail that prevents unauthorized expenditure. Petty cash floats are issued to department heads for incidentals, with receipts required for reconciliation. Controlling POs and petty cash is often where the accountant catches overspending early.

Tax Incentive Reporting and Compliance

Most states and many countries offer production tax incentives, rebates or transferable credits worth 20% to 40% of qualifying expenditures. Capturing these credits requires meticulous documentation: qualifying vs. non-qualifying expenses must be segregated from day one, and all costs must be substantiated with invoices, payroll records, and vendor certifications. The production accountant builds this documentation in parallel with daily operations, then works with a CPA and state auditors during the post-production audit process. A single missed requirement can cost a production hundreds of thousands of dollars in disallowed credits.

Working with the Line Producer and UPM

The production accountant is the line producer's closest financial partner. Together, they review the cost report weekly, discuss variances, and decide whether to escalate concerns to the producer or studio. The accountant provides the data; the line producer and UPM make operational decisions based on it. Strong communication between these roles is the difference between a production that finishes on budget and one that does not.

Final Cost Report and Closeout

After principal photography wraps, the work is not over. The accountant must complete a final cost report that captures all remaining expenses: post-production costs, deferred payments, residuals, and audit adjustments. They close all vendor accounts, reconcile all petty cash, and prepare a complete financial package for the production's investors, studio, and tax incentive auditors. On union productions, they also certify final fringe contributions to the relevant pension and health funds.