How to Become a Production Accountant

Film production is one such niche that requires very expert professionals in every related activity. Although creative skills, artists, popular personalities, etc. are some of the important needs of the film industry, they also need proficient accountants.

There are very few accounting professionals who get a chance to work in this field and there are lesser people showing interest here. The accounting for film production needs to have a proper understanding of the industry. However, many companies struggle to find these accounting experts.

A better quality of accounting for film producers will help them to understand the finances of the film. Here, we will get acquainted with film production industry accounting and ways to become it.
 

What is a production accountant?

In simple words, production accountants are the professionals who manage and monitor all the finances involved in bringing up movies, television series, or other commercials to life.
The finances involved in the film industry are of a bit complex nature and they must be handled accordingly. Production accounting can handle it very easily and help achieve better financial stability for the production house.

What are the main activities in accounting for film production?

The film production accounting will involve all the finances related activities.
Some of these important activities are:

• The production accountants must look after costing productions, calculating outgoings, liaising with financiers, and cash flow management.
• They need to make sure that all the financial requirements are complied with as per the proper legal procedure.  
• Finalize all the production accounting activities with proper financial records.
• They need to do accounting for film producers, which can be helpful for them to prepare the budgets for different aspects of filmmaking.
• If there are larger production houses, accountants will work with a team, accounting for film producers as per their goals, and managing the whole accounting system.
• Processing and managing the payroll system of the production.
• Prepare the financial reports to get better insights.

How can one become a production accountant?

If you are interested to make a career in production accounting, then here are a few ways:

1. Complete graduation from the relevant field
   • The first thing you need for becoming a production accountant is graduation in commerce, accounting, or other relevant fields. This will help you complete the basic criteria which are commonly needed in most of these professions.
2. Get specialized certification
   • You can learn a specialized course in accounting for film production and get the certification. Here, you will learn about this niche and pave the path to make a career here.
3. Get into the proper network
   • Mostly the job requirement of this profession does not appear on any job requirement platforms. So, you need to get into a proper network that can be influential for knowing and getting a job in this profession.
4. Start with an internship or low salary
   • Unlike most jobs, it is difficult to get a job in production accounting. If you expect a high salary at the start in this field then it can be difficult to get a job. So, start with an internship or low salary which can help you get a job opportunity soon.

These are some aspects of getting a job in accounting for film production. If you find it difficult to get professional production accountants, then you can outsource it to experts.
Meru Accounting provides outsourced services of accounting for film producers. Their immense experience of working on accounting for film production can get quality accounting.

They have the proper tools to handle both TV series and film production accounting properly. Meru Accounting is a popular accounting service-providing agency around the world.