The production accountant's weekly cost report is only as accurate as the coding underneath it. Assistant accountants do that coding, along with the rest of the daily transaction work that keeps vendors paid and petty cash balanced. On a studio feature there might be a first assistant, a second assistant, and two clerks. On a $2 million indie there's often one assistant accountant doing everything the production accountant doesn't.
Accounts payable: the first assistant's desk
Most first assistant accountants run AP. The flow for a single purchase looks like this:
- A department head requests a purchase order before renting or buying anything over the show's PO threshold.
- The first assistant checks that the vendor is set up (W-9 on file, certificate of insurance if required, payment terms) and issues or logs the purchase order.
- The invoice arrives. The first assistant matches it to the PO, checks quantities and dates, and gets department head approval.
- The invoice is coded to the right account in the chart of accounts, with any tax incentive flag and episode or set code the show uses.
- The invoice goes into the next check run, and the PO is closed or left open for further charges.
Coding decides where the money shows up in the cost report. Here's a single grip and lighting rental invoice split across accounts on a hypothetical feature:
| Line | Description | Amount | Coded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | G&E package, weeks 3 and 4 | $13,000 | Grip/electric equipment rental |
| 2 | Condor lift, 2 days | $1,900 | Grip/electric equipment rental |
| 3 | Loss and damage, broken flag | $185 | Loss and damage |
| 4 | Delivery and pickup | $450 | Transportation, equipment delivery |
| Total | $15,535 |
The math: $13,000 + $1,900 + $185 + $450 = $15,535. Coding the whole invoice to equipment rental would overstate that account by $635 and understate two others, which throws off the production accountant's estimate to complete for all three.
AP also means check requests for things without an invoice, like a location deposit, and chasing W-9s from vendors who want to be paid before sending one.
Petty cash: the second assistant's desk
Second assistants usually run petty cash. Each float holder (set decorator, prop master, office PA, location manager) signs for their advance and turns in an envelope of receipts to get more. The second assistant checks every receipt, codes it, and reconciles the envelope.
A worked example. A set dresser has a $1,000 float and turns in an envelope with $712.40 in receipts and $287.60 in cash. The second assistant confirms the math ($712.40 + $287.60 = $1,000.00), rejects one $38.00 receipt that has no itemization, and replenishes the float for the $674.40 in approved receipts. The set dresser now owes either a proper receipt or $38.00. The petty cash log template shows the columns accountants use.
Second assistants and clerks also scan and file backup for every transaction, reconcile the production bank account, and prepare reports the production accountant needs.
A typical week
On a feature in production, an assistant accountant's week tends to follow the check run and the cost report:
- Monday: process weekend invoices, collect petty cash envelopes from set
- Tuesday: coding and approvals, vendor setup for new rentals
- Wednesday: prepare the check run for the production accountant's review, reconcile petty cash
- Thursday: checks signed and sent, update PO log for the cost report
- Friday: bank reconciliation, filing, questions from department heads about their open POs
The office is usually open from before crew call until early evening, and accounting stays later during cost report week and at wrap.
Unions and getting started
IATSE Local 871 in Los Angeles represents assistant production accountants and lists 30 paid union days, verified with pay stubs, to join. On the East Coast, Local 161 represents first and second assistant accountants, and its Count Us In organizing campaign also covers accounting clerks. Local 161 says accountants are covered under its Low Budget Theatrical and Pay Television agreements and otherwise through sideletters negotiated per project. On uncovered shows, pay is a negotiated weekly rate.
Most assistant accountants start as clerks, sometimes after an accounting or finance degree, sometimes after working at an entertainment payroll company. The route from there runs second assistant, first assistant, then production accountant or payroll accountant. The skill that moves people up fastest is coding accuracy, because every miscoded invoice turns into a question from the line producer on the cost report.