Roles & Responsibilities

Financial Controller / Production Accountant – Aytak Ltd

Jan 2023 – current

Freelance Production Accountancy & Financial Control

  • Production and corporate accountancy services for companies including, but not exhaustively; multi-currency reporting, co-productions, bonded films, insurance claims, on location and complete production financial control.
  • Full production set up including financial closing packs with cashflows, first day payments lists, drawdown schedules, finance plans and financier’s cashflows.
  • Sole accountant up to £2.5m budget, sourcing and leading a team for budgets in excess of £2.5m.
  • Cast payroll in line with the Pact/Equity agreement, registering pensions and withholding and reporting foreign entertainers tax.
  • Crew payroll in line with the Pact/Bectu agreement, cutting timesheets, calculating salaries and overtime against contractual terms.
  • Close relationships with Equals and Centtrip pre-loaded cash card and exchange companies.
  • Currency requirement planning for complex financial structures.
  • VAT, PAYE and pension registration and filing.
  • Accounts payable control with PO systems and final supplier reconciliations.

Senior Client & Production Accountant – Entertainment Accounts Management London

Jul 2021 – Dec 2022

Film, media and entertainment specialist accounting practice 

  • Corporate accounting including statutory reporting; tax computations; film tax credits; full account reconciliations.
  • Full production accounting for HETV and film including payroll; cost reporting; cashflows; drawdown requests; finance plans; bonded productions; insurance claims; budget reviews.
  • Working closely with producers and line producers to bring films in on budget.
  • Forecasting from actuals to estimate variances to help mitigate the usual and unexpected occurrences of production.
  • Final departmental reconciliations as part of wrap reporting.
  • Post production accountancy through to delivery and corporate reporting.
  • Training junior staff in bookkeeping to TB level and VAT.
  • Engaging new clients, managing existing clients.
  • Team manager; allocating work, managing workflow and ensuring work/home-life balance.
  • Use of Moneypenny, DPO, Team Engine, Quickbooks, FreeAgent, Xero, Excel, Moneysoft and Taxcalc softwares.

Production Accountant – Moonbug Entertainment 

Apr 2021 – Jul 2021 

Children’s content production company specialising in 3D animated educational content for the pre-school market including content for YouTube, Netflix and Amazon 

  • Trade creditors procedure overhauled and simplified.
  • Weekly pay run processing.
  • Helped to create cost tracking with variance analysis on cost reports.
  • Bookkeeping including bank reconciliations; accounts payable management; journals; expenses.
  • Production team guidance on accounts procedures.
  • Animation and children’s TV tax credit processing.
  • Use of Netsuite software.

Production Accountant – The Line Animation Studio

Dec 2020 – Mar 2021

Animation production company specialising in 2D animation for the commercial market

  • Streamlined cost reporting procedure and reports.
  • Integrated cost and payables tracking with variance analysis on cost reports.
  • Complete bookkeeping including bank reconciliations; accounts payable management; raising sales invoices.
  • Creation of management accounts procedure, expense tracking and staff tracking processes and reports.
  • Maintenance of rolling forecasts and quarterly profit and loss reports.
  • Animation tax credit BFI applications.
  • VAT returns, bookkeeping and tax credit processing for SPV company.
  • Use of Quickbooks software.

Production Accountant & Assistant Production Accountant – RDF Television

Production company specialising in entertainment, factual entertainment, documentaries, daytime and features

Oct 2019 – Dec 2020

  • Reviewing cost managers and reports, liaising with the senior production team.
  • Creating and updating cashflow forecasts for development and commissioned productions.
  • Sense and technical checking budgets for production teams.
  • Ensure the estimates to complete are itemised as appropriate and show true reflections of expected costs.
  • Under/overspends fully explained and up to date.
  • Reporting regional expenditure to program commissioners.
  • Attending production start up meetings and advising on financial control and compliance.
  • Providing support to production managers and production executives in completing cost reports.
  • Supporting new/junior production managers with cost monitoring and accounting procedures.
  • Monthly freezing of variance reports and commentary on cost managers.
  • Maintenance and posting internal recoveries.
  • Cross checking and reconciling expenses, petty cash and credit card postings to productions.
  • Managing production floats and advances in multi currencies.
  • Checking and finalising payroll and reconciling related control accounts.
  • Updating month end turnover reports for specific productions.
  • Organising freelancer payments in line with HMRC regulations.
  • Reviewing payroll files ready for monthly PAYE payments.
  • Reconciling bank, petty cash and float accounts.
  • Assisting with audit queries.
  • Use of PMI software.
  • Assisting management accountant with month end processes.
  • Managing supplier inbox and accounts payable function in lieu of furloughed staff.
  • Helping organise production insurance claims.

Client & Production Accounting Manager – EAM London Ltd

Nov 2016 – Oct 2019

Film, media and entertainment specialist accounting practice

Production Accounting:

  • Setting up SPV companies with Companies House and HMRC.
  • Creating portals for shared documentation needed for cash forecasting and setting up the templates needed during production.
  • Reviewing budgets with production teams and making recommendations for finalisation.
  • Generating cashflow forecasts based on schedules, contracts, funding and tax obligations.
  • Processing supplier invoices, expenses and petty cash and reconciling against floats and purchase orders.
  • Managing cashflow as the production progresses; reviewing payment schedules and terms.
  • Monitoring expenditure to limit deviation from budget and cash flow forecasts and flag problems if they arise.
  • Review and execute payment runs for freelance suppliers and payroll employees.
  • Liaise with production accountants working on the film set to make sure information is accurate and in line with coding and budget.
  • Holding meetings with producers and line managers to ensure accuracy of the accounts and correct allocations.
  • Discussing estimates to complete and variance analysis with production team.
  • Ensuring withholding tax for foreign entertainers is appropriately dealt with with HMRC.
  • Filing of VAT returns in timely manner and complying with HMRC for inspections.
  • Reference HMRC guidelines for treatments for tax and PAYE to ensure compliance at all times.
  • Analysing the cost reports to help enable production managers to make informed decisions.
  • Mapping cost reports to preferred accounting software.
  • Inputting realistic accruals and year end adjustments for the statutory accounts.
  • Calculate the creative tax credit claim based on opinion letters, discussions with production managers and analysis of the general ledgers.
  • Finalise statutory accounts and corporation tax returns in conjunction with creative tax credit calculations and BFI certificates.
  • Collaborate with external accountants and create audit packs for the final audits of the production.
  • Consolidate projects and cost managers to meet corporate accounting needs.
  • Manage accounts for multiple types of productions with budgets from £60k – £4m; including films and documentaries.

 

Corporate Accounting:

  • Bookkeeping to trial balance level; reconciling balance sheet accounts, managing billing, liquidity reporting, data entry, processing inter-company transactions, multi currency experience; processing supplier payments and payroll.
  • Statutory accounts and corporation tax returns for SMEs; producing schedules, entering journals, drafting accounts.
  • Management accounting; monthly & quarterly for high turnover small-medium sized businesses.
  • Budget planning; creating budgets based on actual data and profit targets.
  • Solid experience in multi project structured companies and configuring accounts to group format.
  • Managing a team of  accounts assistants; allocation of workloads, reviewing work, bookkeeping training.
  • Working with a variety of types of clients; actors, agencies, producers, media specialists, directors, editors, sports agencies, production companies.
  • Use of multiple accounting software on a daily basis; Sage 50, Sage Instant, Quickbooks (desktop and online), Xero, Clear Books, Taxcalc, Agent File, Microsoft Office suite.
  • Client liaison and problem solving; tidying accounts from external sources, analysis reports as per client requests, assisting with tax and accounting queries.

Accounts Assistant / Legal Cashier – Kennard Wells Solicitors

Jan 2014 – Nov 2016

Solicitors specialising in conveyancing, probate and family law

  • Accounts receivable; allocating receipts, banking and managing electronic receipts.
  • Accounts payable; payment schedules, BACS/TT transfers, printing cheques, managing supplier accounts and invoices.
  • Reconciling all office and client bank accounts on a regular basis.
  • Month End Reporting; accounting, billing, purchase ledger, VAT and bank reconciliations.
  • Controlling the petty cash; making payments out, maintaining the imprest levels, posting balances to the purchase ledger.
  • Managing client accounts; opening new matters, liaising with fee earners on outstanding balances and problems, archiving completed matters.
  • Ad Hoc duties; reconciling probate accounts, general queries, completing journals, transfers and billing.
  • Posting Legal Aid receipts, bills, telegraphic transfer receipts and cash receipts.
  • Time recording; inputting details of fee earners minutes on to computer system ready for billing.
  • Using Quill legal account software to facilitate my work in accounts.
  • Being the first point of contact for clients on the phone and in person.
  • Overseeing the reception; sorting the mail incoming and outgoing, handling the switchboard and booking appointments for fee earners.
  • Maintaining the records for deeds, wills and archived files, storage of files and organising all storage facilities.

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