What is PA?

Now let's get into, what exactly is Production Accounting?

When you think off accounting most think about audit or tax? When in fact there are so many other options you can choose from when it comes to accounting.

How about budgeting for movies, tv shows, or a commercial? If that is of your interest, maybe Production Accounting is for you.

What is Production Accounting Exactly?

You may be wondering, wow sounds like an interesting profession but what exactly will I be having to do? According to the Wrapbook article written by Loring Weisemberger, "A production accountant makes sure that people are paid on time, that the production doesn’t break the bank, and that everyone remains in good standing with the law. Their presence offers a clear benefit to any crew and, in a perfect world, no production would be without one." It is important that in the case of this process, communication is key between yourself and the producer, production manager, and line producer on a regular basis. More specifically, the role entails managing payroll and making sure, "the expenditures of each department remain within budget, while a non-union web series might instead rely on its production managers and coordinators to ensure that everyone gets paid on time."

Why are Production Accountants Vital to the Film Industry?

The job of a Production Accountant is extremely specific and much needed in many cases throughout the set of a film. It is always important to focus on a budget during the process and having someone take care of the financial responsibilities.

Now onto a more detailed question:

What Training Does a Production Accounting Need?

For this specific career, a CPA is not necessary. If you are not too familiar with the accounting term CPA, this stands for Certified Public Accountant. 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO ON WHAT A CPA IS

There is a very tedious and difficult exam most accountants take to become certified. Based off the website, "How Hard is the CPA Exam" the average pass rate is at about 50%. Despite this, I do plan on working on my CPA after I graduate college just for financial stability as a backup plan. In Loring's article he also claims that, "It’s paramount that a production accountant be familiar with both the process of bookkeeping and the underlying theory of accounting..."  More than anything, it is vital that a production accountant needs to understand how to implement their "knowledge of bookkeeping and accounting under the real-world constraints of film production." 

After watching multiple videos I learned how organized one must be to obtain this job. On a day to day basis it is important to collect all receipts from any rental or purchase bought for the film. When I say every receipt I mean from the food receipts used to supply those working on set, gas receipts used for transportation, rental equipment like cameras or props, etc. Not only this, but it goes into even more depth such as writing the gallons that were put into the car, getting the exact location the food was bought at, the phone number of the place, and making sure the recipe stays in good condition as they may be fragile overtime (just a few examples aside from the other office work like retrieving payroll for the crew members etc).

“Production Accountants: The 21 Most Asked Questions.” Wrapbook, www.wrapbook.com/blog/production-accountants-most-asked-questions. 

“How Hard Is the CPA Exam? And Why Are Pass Rates Only 50%?” Surgent CPA Review, 5 May 2020, www.surgentcpareview.com/cpa-exam-resources/how-hard-is-the-cpa-exam/.