Senior Production Accountant

ABC News Longform is meaningfully growing its production output to produce narrative non-fiction content and news specials for the ABC network, Hulu and other Disney platforms. We are seeking an experienced Senior Production Accountant to work across the projects that make up the ABC News Longform portfolio.

This Senior Production Accountant reports to the Director, Production Management & Staffing and will work alongside the production management team to facilitate the day-to-day needs of the studio business with an emphasis on the Hulu portfolio. The Senior Production Accountant will maintain project cost reporting, assist the Production Management and Operations teams in invoice processing and payroll, and liaise with Corporate Finance on project costs.

In addition, they will assist with the day-to-day series accounting needs including running field advances, production credit card payments and reconciliations, and Senior Production Accountant will also work alongside the teams responsible for insurance, rights and clearances, risk management, staffing and post-production operations to insure information flow and project compliance from pre-production through delivery.

Responsibilities:

• Lead day-to-day production accounting across a portfolio of projects to include non-fiction series, news specials, and documentary films including providing timely, accurate and complete analysis and reporting: cost reports, cash flows, and trial balances
• Collaborate with both studio and production teams to provide day-to-day mentorship and problem-solving on workflows and enforcements of accounting procedures
• Coordinate onboarding and other accounting and payroll startup materials for each project, working alongside counterparts in other departments to communicate compliance guidelines and facilitate systems onboarding.
• Liaise between production team and Finance to cost track during production process and investigate cost discrepancies
• Provide Operations WBS and account coding for processing for all invoices, payroll and credit card statements
• Provide Finance with any FTE staff allocations for Hulu after production has ended
• Facilitate production cash advances and credit card management – including setting up new accounts, troubleshooting company issued credit cards and working closely with Line Producers and Production Managers on Purchase Card (P-card) reconciliations. Also including BTA/CTA reconciliations.
• Assist in preparing non-purchase order invoices to assure accurate budget coding and vital approvals are included prior to submission.
• Work closely with Line Producers and Operations on preparing 3rd party payroll services payments.
• Ad-Hoc financial accounting reporting for various shows/projects, as requested.
• Collaborate on special projects as needed to assist in improving the workflows and best practices of the department

Basic Qualifications:

• 3-6 years of production accounting experience, including experience as the primary or 2nd Production Accountant on premium non-fiction series
• Expertise working in PSL, Movie Magic Budgeting, Concur, SAP, and other production finance systems
• Solid understanding of domestic and foreign tax forms such as W-9 and W8-BEN
• Expertise processing payroll for union and non-union productions
• Experience preparing financial reporting and analysis for Network and C-Suite level partners
• Experience handling a portfolio of projects at the same time
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to function in both a quick turn news environment and a longer term documentary production environment
• Calm under pressure and a willingness to be flexible to resolve how best to work with different production teams
• Handles confidential and sensitive information with a high degree of discretion and good judgment
• Proficient in MS Office

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a production company, studio/network production accounting/finance position, or business unit manager capacity
• Experience in identifying incomplete or inaccurate data
• Familiarity with DGA and NABET Union agreements a plus
• A passion for non-fiction content, with both a news and documentary focus
• Must be positive, hardworking, results oriented and comfortable working independently or part of a team

Required Education:

• BA or equivalent work experience

The hiring range for this position in New York is $86,400.00-$118,600.00 per year. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.