Film Accounting Glossary
Bank reconciliation
What is a bank reconciliation?
Also called bank rec.
A bank reconciliation is the monthly exercise of matching the production's own ledger to the bank statement and explaining every difference.
Outstanding checks, uncleared deposits, bank fees, and duplicate payments all surface here, which is why lenders and completion guarantors expect a signed reconciliation as part of the reporting package. An unreconciled account is the most common place a production's real cash position hides.
Example
The ledger says $412,880 and the bank says $438,150. The $25,270 difference resolves to nine uncleared checks, a $180 wire fee, and a duplicate $4,200 vendor payment. That duplicate comes back only because somebody reconciled.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Performed monthly, signed, and sent to the financier and completion guarantor as part of the reporting package.
Common mistake
Skipping it while the shoot is busy. An unreconciled account is where duplicate payments, unrecorded manual checks, and the show's real cash position all hide.
Related questions
- How often should a production reconcile its bank account?
- Monthly at minimum, signed, and included in the reporting pack sent to the financier and completion guarantor. Weekly if the account is busy.
- What does a bank reconciliation catch?
- Uncleared checks, unrecorded manual checks, bank fees, duplicate vendor payments, and any transaction on the statement that never made it into the ledger.