Film Accounting Glossary
Production accountant
What is the production accountant?
Also called film accountant, or key accountant.
The production accountant is the head of a production's accounting department, responsible for the cost report, payroll, accounts payable, purchase orders, petty cash, bank accounts, incentive tracking, and reporting to the studio, financiers, and completion guarantor.
The role sits alongside the line producer and unit production manager and is one of the few positions that touches every department's spending. On a large show they run a team of assistant, payroll, and accounts payable accountants.
Example
On a mid-size feature the accountant runs a team of three, closes the books weekly, issues hot costs daily, tracks qualifying spend for a $2.1M credit, and answers to the line producer, the studio, and the completion guarantor with the same set of numbers.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Heads the production office accounting department. One of the few roles that touches every department's spending.
Common mistake
Bringing the accountant on late. Chart of accounts, controls, incentive coding, and vendor onboarding all have to exist before the first purchase order.
Related questions
- What does a production accountant do?
- Runs the show's books: payroll, accounts payable, purchase orders, petty cash, incentive tracking, the weekly cost report, and reporting to financiers.
- When should a production accountant start?
- In prep, before spending begins, so the chart of accounts, controls, and incentive tracking are set up rather than retrofitted.