Beyond The Budget

One moment, you’re standing next to Hollywood talent. Next, you’re sorting through stacks of receipts and chasing numbers that have to add up. After 30 years in film accounting, Lisa Kim-Kuan has seen it all. In this episode of Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter sits down with Lisa to walk through her career—from her early days working in production accounting to becoming a financial controller on m...

For decades, film payroll ran on paper timecards and long nights in the accounting office. Today, digital tools have changed that.  In this episode of Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter chats with Amy Winfrey , a seasoned payroll accountant who has worked on high-profile films like “Thunderbolts” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”   With over 20 years of experience managing payroll for large-...

It’s not every day that a big Hollywood movie is shooting in your town. When you're offered a job on set, you take it—no questions asked. That’s how Jamie Hinton went from working in carpentry to diving headfirst into the world of production finance.   In this episode of Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter speaks with Jamie about his journey from a background PA to becoming a production finance execu...

How far can one cold email take you? Turns out… pretty far.  In this episode of Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter sits down with Tim McDaniel , a production accountant who broke into the entertainment industry with zero connections—just persistence and a willingness to start at the bottom.  That one cold email landed him a gig on “Southland” and kickstarted a career that’s led to major projects lik...

Brad Field traded combat boots for call sheets, building a career that took him from the US military to blockbuster sets like “Bird Box,” “Knives Out,” and “The Book of Boba Fett.”    In this episode of Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter talks with Brad about his unexpected journey into production accounting, from serving as a security detail on “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” to clerking in Bo...

Behind every successful TV series is a carefully managed budget.  In this episode of Beyond the Budget, production accountant Amy Wohl takes us through the art of block budgeting. This strategy ensures that large-scale productions stay financially on track. She shares her expertise on how block budgeting differs from the dynamic, fast-paced budgets of streaming platforms. Amy reflects on the indus...

In production accounting, no two days are the same. Budgets shift, schedules twist, and high stakes keep everyone on their toes. For Bishop Porter , that fast pace is exactly what makes the job exciting.  In this episode of Beyond the Budget, Alex George chats with Bishop Porter about her journey from traditional corporate accounting to the dynamic world of film and TV production accounting.  Key...

You need a little faith to work in production payroll. Jobs come and go, schedules shift, and there are no guarantees. That can be scary, especially when you’re starting out. But Chuck Hurley made the leap almost 15 years ago… and he’s never looked back. In this episode of Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter talks to Chuck Hurley about how he got his start in production accounting and built a steady...

With multi-million dollar budgets at stake, production accountants are behind every successful production. In Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter meets with Marvin Hernandez , a production accountant with over 15 years of experience. They discuss the vital role production accountants play in keeping productions running smoothly and on budget. Key insights from this episode: Marvin’s journey from a fi...

This is Beyond the Budget, powered by Cast & Crew. Here we will bring you real talk from production accountants about what it takes to keep a project on track. From budgeting to tax incentives, this series shares how the money side of production really works.