Introduction to Film/TV
Production Accounting

Name: Introduction to Film/TV Production Accounting
Price: 595.0 GBP

The training

Learn the essential skills to get your first role in this in-demand area of the film & TV industry.

Location:Online

Duration:4 Weeks

Skill Level:Beginner

Quick Links

Download prospectus

View available bursaries

Location: Online
Duration: 4 weeks
Skill level: Beginner
Sessions: 4

Looking for a communications-led role to break into the industry? Production accounting will take you right to the heart of a production, where an understanding of story is as important as competency working with numbers.

This professional development course will give you a broad overview of the roles, functions and purpose of the accounting team on a UK film or TV production.

Learn practical skills by taking part in real-world scenarios and find out exactly what goes on in a production office, from understanding the structure of a film crew and production timelines to estimating the final cost of a show.

Work with a small group and an expert tutor. You’ll emerge with an understanding of the role, its career progression, an awareness of whether you’d like to work in a production accounts office, and the know-how to get your first role.

This course is introductory and suitable for beginners. We also have an advanced course for those with at least two years of industry experience: Step Up to Production Accountant.

CPD certified

Our professional skills training has been independently accredited for integrity and quality. All learners receive certificates of completion detailing CPD learning hours.

Training information

Please select your preferred start date:

7 October 2024 - 3 November 2024 20 January 2025 - 16 February 2025

Price: ~$779.00

USD is approximate and shown for display purposes. You'll be charged in GBP.

Payment options Pay in full
Pay in instalments

Our team

Meet the experts

Lucy Drake

Course Director

Lucy is an experienced freelance financial controller who also provides consultancy and training in the film and TV industry. She started working as a Drama Production Accountant at the BBC, where she progressed to Senior Production Accountant. Since then, she has worked on numerous HETV dramas, films and documentaries in the UK and worldwide. Her recent production credits include The Witcher: Blood Origin and Our Girl.

More about Lucy

John Yorke

Course Consultant

John is widely acknowledged as the UK’s foremost expert on story and Into the Woods is the bestselling book on the subject in the UK. John’s worked on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama, from EastEnders to Shameless, Life on Mars and Wolf Hall.

More about John

Maria Carranza

Course Moderator

Maria Carranza is a Mexican writer, script consultant, development executive, historian, and translator with 12+ years of international experience in film and TV. She’s worked as a script and book reader for Original Film Netflix UK, Austin Film Festival, and the Athens Film Office, amongst many others, as well as a script consultant for dozens of projects in the UK, USA and Mexico.

More about Maria

Bursaries & Funding

See our full list of UK-based funding opportunities with application guidance. As this counts as CPD training, you may also be able to get funding from your employer to do it.

ScreenSkills

This course has been made possible by the support of ScreenSkills, and has been approved as part of an informal or formal continuing professional development (CPD) programme. You may be eligible for a training bursary for this course. Apply direct to ScreenSkills here, at least four weeks before the course start date.

Things to know

: This CPD training is for people who want to work in TV or film production within the accounts team. It’s suitable for:
Anyone who loves the industry and is looking for a first role
Anyone considering a career move into film / TV production accounting
Accountants from other industries
Those already working in production who think they would enjoy moving over to the accounts office
Producers and Line Producers who would like to know more about what Production Accountants do
: This professional training allows you to:
Understand the costs and expenses that go into a production
Learn key vocabulary and jargon-busting for production accounting
Identify the different roles in productions and how they work with each other
Forecast a budget for a production
Clearly identify and pursue your potential in production accounting
Develop the professional skills production accountants require
Network with others working in TV and film production, and with the tutor team and industry guests
: Our training is taught 100% online in small groups with a designated tutor and moderator on-hand throughout. Each course is divided into sessions. These sessions are released one by one on a weekly basis.
There’s no need to log on at a set time. You can work through the learning materials whenever suits you, day or night, wherever you are in the world. Just allow 5-7 hours per session to complete the assignments and join forum discussions by the deadline.
Our teaching method is based on the science of active learning, where you’ll read, watch and practise exercises in your own time before submitting assignments for peer and tutor feedback. You’ll then review, share, reflect, and refine your work.
It’s both flexible and structured. Social and yet gives you space. You’ll emerge with an industry-standard toolset you can apply to real world projects and a new network of professionals you can trust. Find out more about how we teach.
: Session 1: What is production accounting?
We introduce the purpose of production accounting and how the team might operate within a production, looking at big studio films, streaming TV series, as well as small docs and current affairs shows. Also, how an understanding of story benefits everyone on the production.
Session 2: Starting up a production
We look at setting up the finance office, including crew and procedures. Types of financing, budgets, cashflows, schedules. We’ll ask you to look at the credits in TV and film to test your knowledge of who does what, and you’ll prepare a cash-flow from a sample budget and schedule.
Session 3: What do assistant production accountants do?
We’ll look in more detail at roles and options for your first job, such as in areas of significant production spend, such as Costume Accountant, Location Accountant and Construction Accountant. You’ll find out about purchase orders, invoices, expenses, Pcards and payroll, with real-life exercises, including completing an audit and expenses form.
Session 4: Forecasting and reporting
We’ll practise forecasting the estimated final cost of a film or TV programme using information gathered from the production. Includes examples of cost reports and how they are used by producers and funders. You’ll review a trial balance and think about next steps, including how to get your first role in a production accounts office.
: See our full list of UK-based funding opportunities with application guidance.
ScreenSkills –Production Accounting is an industry skills shortage area and so you may be eligible for a training bursary – apply direct to ScreenSkills here, at least four weeks before the course start date.
As this counts as CPD training, you may also be able to get funding from your employer to do it.
: Join our alumni – After your course, you can join our online alumni community where you’ll meet our growing network of past students. You’ll be able to.
Rejoin your classmates in a private forum
Continue to access an archived version of your course materials
Meet alumni from other courses and share work for feedback
Join discussions about production accounting and the industry
Attend live chats with guest writers and industry folk

How it Works

Our training’s taught 100% online in small groups with a designated tutor and moderator on-hand throughout.

It’s an active learning experience where you’ll read, watch and practise exercises in your own time before submitting assignments for peer and tutor feedback. You’ll then review and refine your work as you get better and better.

Fit the course around your work and time zone – just allow 5-7 hours to work through each session.

It’s both flexible and structured. Social and yet gives you space. Find out more about how we teach.

Book now Ask us anything

Our Alumni

What people say

Emily Gilmore

Senior Content Marketing Manager

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this course. The materials and practical exercises were really engaging, and I learnt a lot from everyone else’s answers. My biggest learning is just how much knowledge a production accountant needs to have about what goes into making a production – it’s certainly not just figures. It’s a hugely important role and I have a lot of respect for the amount of knowledge you need to hold in your brain, the attention to detail you need to spot anomalies, and the personable skills required to have challenging conversations with people in the best interest of the production.”

Steve Butler

Freelancer

“I really enjoyed this course. I’ve learned a lot, not only from the material but also the contributions from my fellow attendees. I think I’ve now got a good handle on the broad role of the accounting dept of film and TV production and it’s given me confidence I can do the work.”

Lauren Hodgkinson

Production Manager

“Prior to this week’s learning I was convinced that to be a Production Accountant, you had to have qualifications. I studied throughout college thinking that I was going to have a career in accounting, but when I left I was dreading the thought of sitting in an office all week and craved something more exciting. I had no idea that I could actually have a career that combined both television production and accounting, without the need of a qualification. I now understand that the Production Accountant role relies much more on production knowledge rather than accounting knowledge and the Production Accountant needs to be across all detail of the filming.”

Articles