Job Description
Production Accountant & Finance Lead
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Employment Type: Full-Time
Compensation: $75,000–$120,000 annually, depending on experience, plus benefits.
About PRETTYBIRD
PRETTYBIRD is an award-winning global production company known for creating groundbreaking work across advertising, film, television, music, and branded content. We collaborate with world-class directors, agencies, and brands to produce culturally impactful creative work.
We’re looking for a Production Finance Manager to join our team and help oversee the financial operations of our productions from award through final wrap and billing.
About the Role
The Production Finance Manager plays a critical role in ensuring our productions are financially organized, compliant, and efficiently managed throughout the production lifecycle.
Working closely with the Head of Production, Executive Producers, Accounting, Business Affairs, Legal, Producers, and Production Supervisors, this role oversees production actuals, financial wraps, cost reporting, payment coordination, and production financial compliance.
The ideal candidate has experience in commercial production actualization or tv/film production accounting, is highly organized, and enjoys building efficient processes while collaborating across multiple departments.
What You’ll Do
Production Finance
- Manage the production actuals process from pre-production to job wrap/conclusion.
- Track, monitor, assist with and complete Working Actuals and Producer Actuals, to compile accurate Accounting Actuals and ensure timely completion.
- Review Producer Actuals for structural accuracy, including internal cost allocations, markups, overages, breakout costs, and budget coding.
- Identify discrepancies and partner with production teams to resolve financial issues prior to Accounting formal review.
- Ensure final production budgets and financial documentation are complete, accurate, and aligned with company standards.
Production Wrap & Financial Close
- Complete actualization and coordinate the production wrap process across multiple active productions.
- Schedule and facilitate financial wrap meetings with Production and Accounting.
- Conduct proactive follow-up with Producers and Production Supervisors to keep wrap timelines on track.
- Track revisions, outstanding financial deliverables, and approvals through final financial close.
- Ensure production documentation and financial materials are submitted according to established timelines.
- Support initiatives that improve wrap efficiency and reduce unnecessary production costs.
Cost Plus & Financial Compliance
- Support Cost Plus productions by ensuring adherence to agency/billing requirements and financial guidelines.
- Verify budget reallocations are documented and approved when required.
- Ensure internal costs, agency-approved overages, and production adjustments are accurately reflected in final reporting.
- Coordinate financial review and approvals prior to final billing.
Reporting & Analysis
- Analyze production spending and identify trends, budget variances, and opportunities for improved financial performance.
- Track key production metrics, including overtime, production labor, meal penalties, payroll-related expenses, and other production costs.
- Support leadership with reporting and production finance analysis that informs future budgeting and operational decisions.
Qualifications
- 4–7+ years of experience in production finance, production accounting, commercial production operations, or agency finance.
- Strong understanding of commercial production budgets, actuals, wraps, and production cost reporting.
- Experience with production budgets, Producer Actuals, and financial reconciliations.
- Familiarity with Cost Plus billing and production financial workflows is a plus.
- Advanced proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets.
- Experience with production budgeting software such as Movie Magic Budgeting, Hot Budget, PSL+, SmartAccounting, Sage Intacct or similar platforms is preferred.
- Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects
- Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Who You Are
You are highly organized, detail-oriented, and proactive. You enjoy creating structure, solving problems, and collaborating across teams to keep projects moving efficiently. You’re comfortable working with budgets, financial reporting, and complex workflows, and you communicate confidently with stakeholders at all levels while taking ownership from project kickoff through final close.
You thrive in energetic environments where balancing multiple priorities and maintaining financial accuracy are essential. You have a strong sense of accountability, naturally follow through on outstanding items, and know when to escalate issues to keep projects on track.
This role is well suited for candidates with backgrounds such as:
Production Supervisor or Assistant Production Supervisor with strong budgeting and financial oversight experience
Production Accountant or Production Finance professional within commercial, TV, or film production
Client Finance Manager or Client Finance Coordinator within an advertising agency
The ideal candidate understands both the operational demands of commercial production and the financial discipline required to successfully close projects. They enjoy bringing structure to complex processes and building strong partnerships across Production, Finance, Business Affairs, Legal, and client teams.
Why PRETTYBIRD
At PRETTYBIRD, you’ll join a collaborative team that produces award-winning creative work for some of the world’s most recognized brands and artists. You’ll have the opportunity to shape and improve production finance operations while partnering with experienced leaders across Production, Finance, Business Affairs, and Legal.
If you’re passionate about commercial production and thrive at the intersection of finance, operations, and creative execution, we’d love to hear from you.