Back in 1995, FilmL.A.’s founders envisioned a Greater Los Angeles served by a one-stop film permit office. Eliminating duplication of services across government jurisdictions, the creation of FilmL.A. made it possible for local filmmakers to quickly and easily obtain dozens of filming permissions, while minimizing the burden of making multiple payments for service.
Today, a lean team of seven accounting professionals at FilmL.A. further that vision by keeping the payments flowing, the books balanced, and financial reports forthcoming. The FilmL.A. Accounting Team – applying a combined 53 years of service to the organization – provide essential customer service and back-office support not only for FilmL.A., but also for our 20+ government clients, including the City and County of Los Angeles and the eight new jurisdictions we’ve signed since 2013.
For filmmakers, their efforts make possible the collection of most permit-related fees in a single transaction. FilmL.A.’S 200 customers and permit services with business credit accounts enjoy additional payment convenience. The management of business credit accounts for qualifying customers is handled entirely in-house by FilmL.A.
Government partners see a benefit, too. FilmL.A.’s accounting team collects and processes all of the final charges for each affected City or County department and issues a monthly payment. In addition, FilmL.A. is the official guarantor of payment for all government fees, so for government partners, the inconvenience and expense of debt collection is effectively eliminated.
“We’re a very close-knit team of ‘get-it-done’ people,” notes CPA Jennifer Hirsch, FilmL.A.’s Controller. “Whether it’s the steps we took this year to streamline the refunds application process, generating financial reports for use by management and our government partners, or working with city and county staff members to ensure timely payment, we’re always looking for ways to serve our internal and external customers.”
Do you have a payment, refund, or accounting-related question the team can answer? Call FilmL.A. at 213.977.8600 and ask for the department by name.