INTHEBLACK March 2025 - Magazine - Page 35
The film and TV sector in
Australia is suffering a shortage
of production accountants and
tax agents.
The explosion of streaming
services has resulted in more
higher-quality and increasingly
diverse productions.
Despite the boom, financial
challenges for producers
continue, as streaming
services typically demand
full ownership rights.
Lights, camera,
transaction
Since streamers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV began
their battles for dominance, the entertainment scene has changed
shape. For producers, it is often a case of more money, more problems.
Words Chris Sheedy
PRODUCERS ARE WELL
acquainted with risk. Their role equates
to CEO of any film or TV production,
and it comes with a high degree of uncertainty.
Financially speaking, there has always been
immense risk in film and TV production
in countries like Australia, says Matthew Carter,
managing partner of Sydney-based
Above The Line Accounting.
“You’re the first person on the project
and you’re the last person off the project,”
Carter says. “Many producers push their fees
right to the end.
“Often, producers make just enough money
to pay the rent. They have to be very passionate
about the project.”
Carter began considering film production
during what he describes as his “early
midlife crisis”.
“I’d done everything my parents expected
me to do, including getting a degree and
working at KPMG for eight years,” he says.
“Then I took a year’s sabbatical to work out
what I really wanted to do.”
Carter has a love of storytelling, so he took
several film production courses, including
a Master of Arts Screen: Producing at the
Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
He worked at Screen New South Wales
before branching out on his own.
“I spent a short time as a producer,
and I just couldn’t see how I could make
a living.”
He decided to combine his passion and skills
by launching Above The Line Accounting,
a firm that serves production companies.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
When a film releases, says Carter, the bulk
of ticket-sales revenue goes to exhibitors
(the cinema chain, such as Hoyts) and
distributors. For example, if a ticket costs
A$10, then four to five dollars stays with
the exhibitor. Another three dollars goes
to the distribution company, which also
expects reimbursement for the costs
of distribution.
So, there might be one or two dollars sent
back to the production company, which has
to pay back production costs to investors,
which for Australian films will often cost
two to six million dollars.
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 35
