Manager, Production Finance

Sinclair Broadcast Group•Santa Monica, CA

7h•$90,000 - $120,000•Onsite

About The Position

Tennis Channel’s Production Finance Manager manages day-to-day production accounting and financial analysis for domestic and international production activities. Reporting to the Director of Production Finance, the role supports live events, studio productions, original content, and digital initiatives through accurate close, event cost reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and financial controls. The manager works closely with Production, FP&A, and Accounting, coordinating broader accounting requirements with the Director of Accounting. This is an onsite role located in Santa Monica, California.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
Five to seven years of progressive accounting or finance experience, including hands-on budgeting, forecasting, production or project job costing, monthly close, and reconciliations.
Ability to build and maintain event cost forecasts, analyze actuals and commitments, and explain financial results clearly to production managers and Finance leadership.
Strong understanding of accrual accounting, financial controls, and production labor and vendor cost review.
Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookup functions, and financial modeling.
Strong communication, organization, and judgment; ability to manage competing deadlines, work independently, collaborate across teams, and deliver accurate work with appropriate review.

Nice To Haves

CPA or a relevant master’s degree.
Experience in live sports, production finance, entertainment, or media; familiarity with domestic and international production costs.
Experience with Oracle or a comparable ERP/project accounting system.
Experience documenting processes and improving reporting workflows; familiarity with BI tools and approved automation.

Responsibilities

Manage production-related monthly close, including production and program costs by line of business, prepaid assets, accrued liabilities, amortization entries, account reconciliations, job-cost schedules, and reconciliation of production records to the general ledger.
Support annual budgets, quarterly forecasts, long-range planning schedules, variance analyses, and monthly reporting packages for Finance and Production leadership.
Maintain event-level cost estimates incorporating actual spending, outstanding commitments, and remaining costs; review assumptions with Production, explain cost drivers, and promptly escalate potential overruns, forecast changes, and financial risks.
Track production costs, vendor obligations, talent commitments, and open purchase orders; prepare recurring event cost reports and post-event analyses with budget-to-actual comparisons and recommendations.
Review crew payroll, timecards, overtime, labor coding, and production labor costs for accuracy, budget impact, documentation, and approvals; coordinate exceptions with Production, HR, and payroll providers.
Review production payables, purchasing card activity, employee expense reimbursements, and per diem payments for coding, documentation, approvals, and policy compliance; approve transactions within delegated authority and coordinate with Corporate AP and expense systems, including Concur.
Support financial review of production agreements and vendor commitments for cost tracking, accounting treatment, payment timing, and budget impact; escalate exceptions and coordinate technical accounting questions with the Director of Accounting.
Serve as a day-to-day finance contact for Production on project setup, chart of accounts, transactional workflows, policies, and procedures, while coordinating financial requirements with Production.
Prepare production-related audit schedules and supporting documentation, coordinating submissions and requests through the Director of Accounting.
Support Corporate tax requests related to production, including international costs and tax/VAT documentation, as directed by Accounting and Corporate Tax.
Coordinate production accounting priorities, close deadlines, and supporting work with Finance and Accounting team members; maintain process documentation and reporting calendars and follow up on unresolved items.
Improve production accounting, forecasting, and reporting through standardized templates, reconciliations, and approved automation and AI-enabled tools; maintain cost benchmarks, savings trackers, and operational metrics.
Support production-related corporate initiatives, parent-company integration, and system upgrades under the Director of Production Finance, coordinating with the Director of Accounting and VP Finance/Controller as appropriate.