Opportunities in Film and TV Production Accounting

In 1985 I found myself at odds with a career. The Savings & Loan Company where I had worked as a Controller was bought out and I was left on the street. I resolved to find an industry which had lots of cash flow, and which could withstand the various economic trends. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who introduced me to the film and television production industry. It’s not an industry which is easy to discover on your own.

CONTRACT EMPLOYEE – FILM & TV PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT
Working in the production side of that industry has provided me with a steady stream of “Contract Employee” work. In spite of the seeming temporary nature of the employment, the transparency of the length of time of work, and the much higher rate of pay for accountants and bookkeepers, makes it easier to predict how to manage your life. Another bonus is that no one cares if you want to take time off between contracts – an excellent way to travel, take the family for a 2 month holiday, etc.

http://www.anythingresearch.com

TELEVISION INDUSTRY IS GROWING – LOTS OF WORK FOR ACCOUNTANTS
The Television Broadcasting Industry has been growing dramatically over the past few years – see the chart here showing the growth of the US Marketing size for Television Broadcasting. Anyone with Netflix and Amazon Prime accounts can see the amount of new “original” content produced by these two giants. What’s not so obvious to those outside the industry is how accountants and bookkeepers could get involved, either by servicing the productions in some way, or actually working as a film and television production accountant.

ONE OF THE CURRENT HOTSPOTS FOR TELEVISION PRODUCTION

Many of these television productions could be produced in your state, or close by. Currently one of the current hotspots for television production is Atlanta Georgia. That’s why I am returning to Atlanta for another couple of workshops:

FILM PRODUCTION ACCOUNTING 101

You will start with hands-on practice doing the functions of assistant film accountants using the unique proprietary general ledger software. Additionally, you will learn the industry wide standards for budgeting film and television productions as well as industry terms, principles and key industry reports. We also spend some time showing the attendees how to find work in the industry

US CAST AND CREW PAYROLL

You will learn how to manually calculate cast and crew payroll for Screen Actors Guild (SAG Day and Weekly Performers), Directors Guild (DGA), crew working in middle America (IATSE Area Standards) and crew working on low budget theatrical release movies (IATSE Low Budget Agreement).

For those who need it, each workshop qualifies for 14 hours of Continuing Professional Education.
See you there!

Cheers / John

Film and Television Accounting 101 Workshop – Atlanta (CPE 15 Hrs)

101 Curriculum

The Film Accounting 101 Workshop is coming up in Atlanta on October 19th and 20th, 2019.

It’s a full 2 days with lots of action for the attendees – the main thrust of the workshop is to create Assistant Film Production Accountants. The workshop:

• introduces attendees to the industry specific practices,
• the industry specific terms and reports, and,
• all the while getting to practice  using the proprietary general ledger software unique to the film and television production industry.

It’s almost all hands-on practice in my workshops, with as much one-on-one as possible with 20 (or fewer) attendees.

Have a look at this short video where I give a brief rundown of the curriculum of the weekend workshop.

The end result for the attendee is someone who can work in the film and television production industry as an assistant accountant, or as an informd State Tax Incentive auditor (if you’re a CPA). Also, emerging line producers learn the best cost control points during any production.

See the curriculum for yourself, as well as the testimonials, then visit my web site for more details.

 

Cheers / John

Understanding the Film Production IATSE Union

Film Producers, and Financiers/Studios, understand the value of having an experienced film crew working on their film or television production. Those crew members with the most experience are almost always going to belong to the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees. The IATSE union (pronounced Eye-At-See) represents all unionized film and television crew throughout America.

IATSE CREW UNION LOCALS

Over the years the IATSE Union “Locals” have established different rates and regulations depending on the type of production, and depending on the “Jurisdiction” of the locale where you’re shooting. Since approximately 60% of the shooting cost is crew labor, it’s important that Producers understand the costs when budgeting for different locales.

THE COMPARATIVE COST OF IATSE CREW

As Producers are locking down their finances and film budgets some common questions keeping them awake at night are:

• Can I get experienced crew in that locale?
• If so, is the cost of that crew the same as the crew cost I have in my budget?
• If there isn’t an experienced crew available locally, what will it cost to travel in crew, and house them during the shooting period?
• In that circumstance, how much more will the rates be for that crew brought in?
• Should I go to another State where the Tax Incentive isn’t as lucrative, but where I can get local crew?
• What is the cost of the experienced crew in the new locale, and how does that cost compare to my budget? 

It all gets kind of spinny, especially if the various “Jurisdictions” rates and regulations are not understood. To make it even more difficult, when bringing crew in from, say Los Angeles, to work in Atlanta, those crew from Los Angeles still get paid under the same rates and rules as Los Angeles (i.e. more expensive rates and rules).

BREAKING DOWN THE IATSE UNIONS BY LOCATION

So, let’s backup and look at the various IATSE “Locals” to see where they are and how the rates are assigned. Hopefully, we can get a good idea which locations provide the best ‘bang for the buck’.

The IATSE unions in America are generally thought of in three categories:

1. West Coast – 13 States on the western side of America, inclusive of Alaska (See the Map).
2. East Coast – Essentially the 5 states of NY, NJ, PA, CT and PA.
3. Area Standards – pretty much everywhere else, notably Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana.
4. Finally, the Low Budget Feature Film Agreement – the only Agreement which applies to ALL of America and Canada, where “Low Budget” means up to $14,200,000 (and it does not apply to television productions, only features).

Each of the above have their own rates and rules regarding overtime, etc.

THE BEST ‘BANG FOR THE BUCK’ IS….

I made a quick table, see below, of the rates for a feature film production. As you can see the rates show that it is least expensive to shoot in the American Standards jurisdictions – I.e. Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago, etc. This is a very rough look, as there are other considerations, however, it gives you a rough idea of the comparative costs.

FILM ACCOUNTING 101 and US PAYROLL WORKSHOPS

In the Film Accounting 101 Workshop coming up is where you get to learn the industry wide general ledger software used by film production accountants throughout America., and in the US payroll workshop coming up you get hands-on experience calculating film and television union and guild. Producers and Line Producers feel these courses have helped them with controlling their film projects as well.  

To learn more visit my web site, at http://www.filmaccounting.com .

 

Comparison of 2019 Rates:	West	Area Standards	East	LowBudget
Position	(LosAngl)	(Atlanta)	(NYC)	(Tier 3)
Key (e.g. Gaffer)	$     49.66	$        36.53	$     60.70	$       37.46
2nd (e.g. Best Boy Elec)	$     44.87	$        33.33	$     55.92	$       33.89
3rd (e.g. Electrician)	$     43.74	$        30.15	$     53.06	$       32.37
Speciality Dept Heads:
Hairstylist	$     52.94	$       36.53	$     71.40	$       33.33
Standyby Painter	$     65.34	$       33.33	$     78.70	$       35.85
Sound Mixer	$     75.30	$       36.53	$     75.39	$       60.31

 

 

Cheers / John

 

The Purpose and Product of Film Accounting

(NY CPE Licensed Sponsor – CPE 14 Hrs)

PURPOSE and PRODUCT of FILM ACCOUNTING

The Purpose of Film Accounting is to help the producers create the best feature film, or television series, that is possible for the money invested. This would be considered by some to be the “Overall Goal”.

The Product of Film Accounting is the “Weekly Production Cost Report” – the financial report card, letting the producers, and investors, know if we are progressing on time and on budget.

REPORTING TO FILM & TV PRODUCERS AND INVESTORS

Whenever you have multiple creative people planning and spending their budgets through short periods of time, there are bound to be tempers flaring and cross currents happening among powerful leaders in the industry. All through that chaos and flared tempers, the Film Accounting Team must predict and report succinctly the financial status to the producers & investors.

CAREER AS A FILM PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT

Film Production Accounting is the last accounting career of stature, earning very good income, where a CPA Is not a prerequisite. The career usually starts at the bottom of the Accounting Department, where you work your way up through 3 levels to being the “Key” Film Production Accountant. The keener you are, the faster you rise through the levels.

HOW TO GET IN THE INDUSTRY

Get some experience and familiarity with the tools of the trade. Where do you find out about work? What are the skill sets required? Is there a specific general ledger software you need to know more about? All of these questions are answered and practiced in my Film Accounting 101 workshop in NYC, September 15^th and 16^th, 2018. Come join us in the heart of Times Square at 1441 Broadway Ave for a weekend of learning and sharing.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

This is a weekend of practicing the “film studio standards” of film production accounting. You work with all the usual tools, such as a real film budget, cost reports and hot costs, and the commonly used proprietary general ledger software used in the Film Industry. From all the testimonials over the past 6 years, the workshop is fun, effective and has started many careers in the industry.

There are more benefits to doing the workshop. Check them out at http://www.filmaccounting.com

I’m on a production in NYC for 6 months.  I’m rarely in this city. We have a group of professionals attending and have room for a few more.  I hope to see you there

Cheers / John

 

John Gaskin is a New York licensed CPE sponsor.

Film and Television Production Accounting (CPE 14 Hours)

HOW DOES FILM ACCOUNTING DIFFER

Film Accounting has the same elements as any business – Bookkeeping, Reporting and Auditing. However, the rapidity and convention of the film accounting process has to be experienced to believe. There’s “Petty Cash” of $40,000 a week, about 200 to 500 Purchase Orders a week (at least in the last weeks of prep and the first weeks of shooting), etc. The paperwork can trample the accounting system IF you aren’t prepared with a workable system. And THAT’s what separates Film Accounting from any other – the workable industry specific system that’s the same from production to production and which the producers, financiers, crews and the cast have grown accustomed to.

LIFE CYCLE OF A FILM OR TELEVISION PRODUCTION

The production of a film or TV project can be seen as a full-blown dramatization of the life cycle of a manufacturing company. In a few months the crew move into an empty warehouse/studio, rent or buy furniture, equipment, vehicles, props, wardrobe, shoot the ‘product’ for a very specifically locked-in budget, and then  return all the rentals and sell whatever was bought, wind up the bank and leave the warehouse/studio as they found it – empty of everything except maybe the dumpster awaiting pick-up. Most business accountants don’t see the full life cycle of a business – ever. So, the production personnel and production accountants have developed a niche for this kind of thing – especially, given the very specific type of budgeting and cost reporting that is entailed in such a fast life cycle.

UNIQUE PROPRIETARY GENERAL LEDGER SOFTWARE

The film and television production industry uses proprietary general ledger software not available in the market place. In my workshop we work with that software giving you 2 days of practical experience unattainable any other way. We pay specific attention to the general terminology, the film production industry specific accounting practices as well as the general flow of all accounting forms and reports.

FILM ACCOUNTANT: WHAT ARE THE PREREQUISITES

Film Accounting is the only business category on earth which doesn’t require you to have previous accounting training. The assistant accountants usually rise on the food chain with a series of on-the-job clerical jobs (with pay). Of course, you’d be ahead of the crowd if you had accounting and bookkeeping fundamentals, but really the only requirement is a sharp mind and bright attitude.

For all of you CPA’s, I am a “Licensed Sponsor” for Continuing Professional Education in New York State.

Whether your intention is to enter the film industry, or just to get some fun CPE, I hope to see you at our next workshop in September, 2018. If you have any questions, please email HeleneWorkshops@gmail.com

For more information see http://www.filmaccounting.com

Cheers / John

 

John Gaskin has worked in Film Accounting since 1985 on over 50 film and television productions of every size, in 6 different countries. Visit http://www.filmaccounting.com for testimonials and agendas, etc.

 

After Tax Season CPE – Film Accounting – 14 Hrs

Film Workshops For Professionals

Another tax season is almost over. Once you’ve got your breath back, it’s time to plan your CPE credits for the year. If you’ve been around for a while, the same-old study topics start to feel repetitious.  If you agree, have a look at the largely unknown field of Film Accounting.

FILM INDUSTRY AS AN OPPORTUNITY

Within the film and television industry there are several sources of new revenue opportunities for CPA’s. The most obvious opportunity for CPA’s is to perform audits of the Production Cost Report for the State Film Tax Incentives; however, there are several other opportunities:

• Administering the State tax credit applications and forms for the production. This can be quite lucrative.
• Performing the bookkeeping for the “Indie” film, television and documentary productions.
• Tax Consulting and Filing of the corporate and personal tax returns for the “Indie” productions and producers.
• Consulting to monetize the State tax incentives.
• Performing the Post-Accounting duties for the producer (i.e. bookkeeping of the production records after the heavy Shoot Period but before release of the project).

FILM INDUSTRY SPECIFIC PRACTICES

The best way to learn more about the film industry specific practices, terms and unique general ledger software is to come to a workshop. The workshops are hands-on film accounting activities performed with proprietary general ledger software used only in the film and television industry.

FILM ACCOUNTING 101 IN MAY, 2017

The next workshop is in May, before the Memorial Day weekend, in Chicago, IL. According to rave reviews, nobody leaves the workshops bored.

For more information visit http://www.filmaccounting.com 

Cheers,

John Gaskin

John has worked over 50 film and television productions in 6 countries over 30 years. See his resume on IMDb and check the testimonials at http://www.filmaccounting.com

Why Another Writer’s Strike Is Unsupportable

How did one of the richest and best paid guilds come to the brink of a strike? Deadline Hollywood has an excellent summary of the WGA leader’s rhetoric, starting with Sept 21/15 right through to April 10.17. It’s my purpose to present some of their rhetoric and to refute it with real facts and figures.

99.2% OF THOSE WORKING IN THE INDUSTRY WOULD BE HIT

First of all, let’s look to see how many writers are involved, and compare that to the number of other people will be affected by a WGA strike. In May of 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics published that 422,560 people were employed within the “Motion Picture and Video Industries”. Out of the 422,560 people, only 3,460 people are classified as “Writers and Authors”. To make a point, that is only 0.8% of the total number of people employed within the industry were Writers at the time of that survey, leaving 99.2% of the industry severely impacted. Hmmmm. Without getting into anything else, I think that those numbers tell you something, especially when compared to a writer’s average annual salaries – see further below.

RHETORIC – AVERAGE WRITER’S INCOME HAS GONE DOWN

The rhetoric raised by the WGA to support a strike bid leaves me scratching my head. Per Deadline Hollywood, the WGA Reps are saying, “During this ‘peak TV’ era, when more television is being produced than ever, and when everyone who works in television is finding a sellers’ market for their skills, why is the average TV writer seeing their income go down?” This seems astonishing! How could the average salaries go down?

COMPARING 23 EPISODES WITH 13 EPISODES

Well, in the “old days” the TV writers were working generally, on 22 or 23 episodes a season – not always, mind you, but generally speaking. These days the trend is toward producing 13 episodes a season – this is the new formula supported by streaming services and the various Cable television programs. So, yes, a writer who worked on 23 episodes would make more than someone who worked on 13 episodes – Duh! The elephant in the room is: How many more writers are actually making a living now as compared to them good ‘ol days? Well, the answer is a lot more.

COMPARING 2009 WITH 2015

To give you an idea of how very few active television writers there were in 2009, here is what Charles B. Slocum (Asst Exec Dir of WGA West) said in Aug/Sept 2009, “In 24 hours, NBC has just three hours of dramas and comedies. And, on some nights those make way for Dateline or Deal No Deal.” So, it’s a fair conclusion that very few writers indeed were working in those good ‘ol days.

Here is a comparative statistic from Deadline Hollywood going back to 2015 when the streaming companies (HBO, Netflix, Starz, Amazon) just started to hit their stride: “The guild’s records also show that in 2015, TV writers earned $803 million under the WGA West’s basic contract, for an average annual income of $194,478, which was $48,936 more than they made in 2006.” Are we to support the writers because “the average tv writer has seen their average income go down?”

DO YOU DISAGREE WITH A WGA STRIKE?

I have more tables to support the writers fees, including their residuals, all based on their WGA 2014-2017 Theatrical and Television Agreement. However, I think you get the point – another writer’s strike is unsupportable. You can have a look at their “Schedule of Minimums” published on their web site.

Should I start a petition? If it won’t stop a strike, at least the WGA will know how the majority feels. Let me know how you feel.

 

Cheers / John

 

See my web site for current workshops on Film Accounting 101 and Film Payroll , CPE qualified http://www.filmaccounting.com

 

 

 

Problems the CPA Has In Penetrating the Film Industry

Film and TV Production

The primary difficulty I see with the CPA penetrating the film production market is knowing what questions to ask. The CPA, generally thought of as a consultant in the usual business world, is often tongue-tied when it comes to discussing the film and television business. Rest assured , there are several interesting ways that the CPA can assist Film and Television Producers.

MOST CPA’S ARE INTERESTED IN THE FILM BUSINESS

When I speak with CPA’s about the film industry I find a lot of interest in the field. Film and Television, as a business, promises something different and unique from the usual businesses they deal with. Also, it helps that the Film & Television Industry has excellent and consistent revenue streams.

SOME OF THE USUAL QUESTIONS CPA’s ASK:

1. What sort of accounting services does the Film Industry require from a CPA?
2. What are the industry specific practices, reports and terminology?
3. I hear about the Film Tax Incentives in some States. How does that open the door to new business for my practice?
4. What software is used during a film or television production?
5. Once the project is filmed what services would be required from a CPA in “Post”?
6. Can the CPA help with arranging financing?

If you do some research, I think you’ll find that there is very little, if any, information available online – and most of what you’ll find is authored by me.

WHAT PRODUCERS EXPECT FROM A CPA

Producers and Studio Execs have high expectations of anyone they contract with, especially a CPA who charges out at an hourly rate. They will expect the CPA to be familiar with their everyday terminology and to contribute to solutions. Just a few terms considered common are:

• Inventory (the current cost of developing and producing “product”),
• Fringes (government and union benefits),
• Back-End (final equity available),
• IATSE Turnaround (penalties assessed by crew when not enough given enough overnight rest),
• SAG residuals,
• etc

If you are interested in expanding in some way into the Film Industry there are a couple of ways you can learn more about it.

LEARN THROUGH WEEKEND WORKSHOPS – 15 HRS of CPE

Film Workshops For Professionals

Workshops are always the most fun way to learn. I have another Film Accounting 101 workshop coming up on October 19th and 20th, 2019 in Atlanta, GA.

See the short video to see some past successes. There are numerous testimonials on my web site. For more info see http://www.filmaccounting.com/filmworkshops3.htm 

 

 

LEARN THROUGH ONLINE COURSES – 2 HRS of CPE PER COURSE

Click here to see a short video

However, getting to the workshop location, and breaking away from the office, isn’t always possible – for you or for me. At the end of each online course qualifying for CPE I ask the student if the “stated objectives of the course” were met. There has never been a “No” yet…. that’s 100% of the time every student has said that the stated objectives were met. For more detailed information about the online courses see http://www.filmaccounting.com/filmaccounting-cpe.htm

 

 

 

 

Cheers / John

 

 

Film Production Payroll Accountant

Film Payroll accountants are a category that is never heard about outside of the film industry. A Film Payroll Accountant with a couple of years experience usually makes in the range of$2,000/Week. What does a Film Payroll Accountant need to know and how much demand is there for their services?

A PUBLISHED “WANTED AD’s” FOR FILM ACCOUNTANTS

There is one source that many studios, producers and production accountants use to find available film accountants, including film payroll accountants. It’s referred to as “Emily’s List”. Those who post there are Producers looking for various levels of film accountants to work across America, and even up into Canada. The internet address for Emily’s List is at http://www.ricegortonpictures.com/blog/

ALMOST 40% OF POSTS ARE FOR PAYROLL ACCOUNTANTS

I went through the last 100 listings or so, to see how many postings were for Payroll Accountants. I found that 4 out of 10 listings are for either a Film Payroll Accountant, or for a Film Payroll Clerk. That makes the other 6 out of 10 listings shared by Key Accountants, 1^st Assistant Accountants, 2^nd Assistant Accountants and File Clerks. Wow…. that proves to me that the Payroll Accountant is in demand.

NOT YOUR USUAL PAYROLL ACCOUNTANT

Film payroll accounting is all about knowing the union rules for cast (Screen Actors Guild), directors and assistant directors (Directors Guild of America), crew (IATSE) and drivers (Teamsters). The skill is derived from knowing how to calculate the “Gross Pay” – that is, the amount of gross pay after factoring in overtime, meal penalties and rest violations. The  government and union withholdings and contributions are calculated and reported/remitted by the payroll service.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE and PRACTICE SOME MORE

So, the task becomes knowing how to calculate union gross payroll, and that’s all we do for 2 full days – right from beginning to end. You will be left with all of the reference material for SAG, DGA, IATSE Area Standards, and IATSE Low Budget Agreement, as well as on-line access to the full courses and materials for future reference. (A Michigan Teamster Agreement is reviewed at the end of the 2nd day; however, after doing the above it seems pretty simple).

The payroll workshop is over the weekend of May 20^th and 21^st, 2017 in Chicago.

Hope to see you there! (Note to all you CPA’s, this is a fun way to earn 16 CPE points!)

For more info you can check out my web site at http://www.filmaccounting.com/filmworkshops6.htm

Cheers / John

Media and Entertainment Market Expected to Reach $771 Billion by 2019

Here’s what SelectUSA.gov.com has to say about the U.S. media and entertainment (M&E) industry:

“The U.S. media and entertainment (M&E) industry is comprised of businesses that produce and distribute motion pictures, television programs and commercials along with streaming content, music and audio recordings, broadcast, radio, book publishing, and video games.  The U.S. M&E market … is expected to reach $771 billion by 2019, up from $632 billion in 2015, according to the 2014 – 2019 Entertainment & Media Outlook by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC).”

WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN FOR YOU?

That should be good news for anyone working on the periphery of the film and TV industry, but it should also be a wake-up call for CPA’s looking to expand their practice. Regardless if you’re interested in Film Production Accounting, or in working as a Line Producer, you’re probably wondering how you would fit into the M&E Industry. If I were you here are some of the immediate questions I would ask:

• What does the Film Accountant do that supports and is parallel with what a Producer needs to know?
• What qualifications does a person need to start working in film accounting? (Answer: surprisingly little)
• What are the industry specific accounting practices, reports and terminology that the film accountant prepares and the Producer must be able to supervise?
• How can an understanding of film accounting help me generate new business from Film Tax Incentives, and help the Producer access funding?
• How would an understanding of film and television production open the door to new business for my CPA practice?
• What level of billing or wages are usual for the film industry?
• What accounting, budgeting and scheduling software is used during a film or television production, how can I get familiar with it?
• How do I find contacts in the film industry?

Do some research. I think you’ll find that there is very little, if any, information available online – and most of what you’ll find is authored by me.

LEARN THROUGH WEEKEND WORKSHOPS – 14 HRS of CPE

Your questions will be answered in a weekend workshop, Film Accounting 101. I have another one coming up on May 6th and 7th in Chicago, IL. Learn by actually doing in a controlled environment. I keep the workshops less than 20 people so that we can have lots of one-on-one time.

 

For more info see http://www.filmaccounting.com

 

Cheers / John