Senior Production Accountant

Job description
Flying Bark Productions is working on exciting projects such as Avatar: The Last Airbender feature film, Netflix's Stranger Things animated series, as well as our production Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan.

Please note that this position is a maternity leave coverage role. Applicants within Australia preferred, with full working rights required (sorry, no remote or sponsorship opportunities at this time).*


The Senior Production Accountant will lead and manage the financial operations for Flying Bark’s animation productions, ensuring projects remain on budget, compliant with industry standards, and aligned with strategic objectives. This role is pivotal in overseeing end-to-end financial processes, from budgeting and forecasting to detailed cost tracking, tax credit reconciliation, and timely reporting.

About the role:

Manage the Production Accounting team, including oversight of LA and Madrid, ensuring timely delivery of all key outputs and fostering a culture of continuous improvement while mentoring the production accounting staff to maintain high standards in production reporting and compliance.
Collaborate with the finance team to ensure timely payment processing, with Producers to develop budgets and bids for new projects and with clients and stakeholders to address any cash flow challenges, securing necessary approvals from the Financial Controller.
Review fortnightly payrolls prior to submission by the Payroll Accountant and act as a point of escalation for complex crew payroll queries.
Approve and process vendor invoices, ensuring all contracts, purchase orders, and deliverables align with production budgets.
Work with department heads to estimate accurate company overheads and prepare external client bids for approval including cash flow projections.
Provide strategic guidance on budget simulations and adjustments to optimise financial planning as well as high-level guidance on payroll matters, including pay rates, overtime, entitlements, and union/guild compliance.
Ensure the timely delivery of all accounting milestones, including weekly, monthly, and annual reporting requirements.
Review and address reporting inefficiencies to streamline processes and create long-term departmental efficiencies.
Support cash flow management, including client rebids, forecasting and reporting.
Oversee production budgets, ensuring alignment with company and client expectations.
Track and analyse production expenses to ensure adherence to budgets.
Generate comprehensive monthly financial reports, including cost analyses and projections, for review by leadership.
Manage Development Slate including funding
Work with department heads to estimate accurate company overheads and prepare external client bids for approval including cash flow projections.
Oversee tax credit reconciliation processes, ensuring compliance with government regulations and client agreements.
Maintain accurate tracking of crew resource locations and ensure excluded expenditures are managed effectively.
Prepare for and manage production audits and offset applications.
Support the finance team with company audits, including reconciliation of accounts and addressing discrepancies.
Provide recommendations to Producers and leadership to enhance operational efficiency.
Act as the primary liaison between production and finance teams, facilitating smooth communication and problem resolution.
Identify trends, mitigate financial risks, and recommend opportunities for improvement.


About you:

Relevant industry-specific production accounting experience is required (minimum of 5–7 years).
Excellent written and verbal communication skills are essential.
Leadership experience is desired but not essential.
High competency in accounting practices with demonstrated ability to work across multiple software solutions for data management and reporting.


What do we do?

Flying Bark Productions is a renowned independent producer of family-focused animation entertainment. For over 50 years, our 2D and 3D production facility has created award-winning feature films and TV series.

Why work with us?

We work on some pretty cool projects - check out our website: https://www.flyingbark.com.au/
We have an industry leading studio space in Alexandria, complete with a cinema, quiet room, Zen Garden, games room, and state of the art animation facilities.
Breakfast is served daily - on us!
We have cake days, movie nights, wrap parties & a culture club dedicated to coordinating our busy social calendar!
The Barkers have big hearts too, with our Paws for a Cause fundraising arm raising much needed funds for charities such as Beyond Blue, RSPCA and the Cancer Council.
We love dogs and you will often see some of our regular fluffy companions in the studio.
We have a hybrid approach to work with flexible work from home days on offer.
Career development is important to us so we offer training and support opportunities whenever possible.
Our employees say our culture is the best they've ever experienced - everyone is welcome and celebrated!
You'll have access to mental health resources and free counselling via our Employee Assistance Provider, Support Act.
Enjoy holistic wellbeing support through discounted health insurance with Bupa, financial wellbeing initiatives from our superannuation partner Media Super, and

Australia
New South Wales
Sydney Show on map Get directions