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Production Accounting:
First Steps

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
  • 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.

ScreenSkills bursaries

You may be eligible for a ScreenSkills training bursary for this course. See 'bursary information' further down this page.

Our team

Meet the experts

Lucy Drake

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
Chay Collins

Chay Collins

Course Moderator

Chay is a London-based freelance writer and creator. They hold a BA in Film & Television specialising in screenwriting and gender & sexuality. As well as running writing events they have had essays published in anthologies and their debut novella nominated for an award.

More about Chay

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

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.

ScreenSkills –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.

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.

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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.”

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