In the latest Beyond the Budget, Bishop Porter sits down with veteran production accountant Amy Wohl, whose credits span iconic shows like Murphy Brown, Desperate Housewives, Gilmore Girls, and Black-ish. With more than two decades in the business, Amy shares how she broke in, why she went freelance, and what it takes to thrive across different formats, departments, and decades of change.
Though her path didn’t start in finance, Amy found her footing early. “I have a degree in French Foreign Languages and Literature,” she explains. “A friend of mine said I should consider production accounting. I thought, well, I don't exactly know what that is.” A call to her godfather, a veteran producer, led to a résumé submission and eventually a trainee role at Warner Brothers during the TV boom of the early '90s.
“I didn't know anything about production accounting,” she admits. “I knew gap accounting, but I didn't understand production accounting, which is really a giant checkbook.”
After five years on staff, Amy moved into freelance work to get closer to production and gain the independence to build her own team. “I wanted to be closer to production and to work with producers, and so on. So I decided that I wanted to go freelance.” Despite concerns from others, Amy said she just knew “it was the next thing that I should be doing.”
From half-hour sitcoms to one-hour dramas, Amy discusses how the shift in format changes everything from transportation logistics to budgeting complexity. “One-hours are just so much broader… once you start going out onto location, you have a really, probably good-sized transportation department, which becomes a really big part of your budget.”
Throughout the conversation, Amy reflects on the highs and challenges of the job, from wrap parties on rooftops to navigating production during Covid shutdowns. “We wrapped from home. We figured it out. The good thing is all the relationships were established on that show, so having those relationships established, it ran much more smoothly.”
Her parting advice for up-and-coming accountants? “If they feel that this is what they truly want to do, keep putting yourself out there… I do think this is very much a people business. I mean, I know we're digital now, but… I want them to know me.”
Watch the full episode above or listen on your favorite podcast platform to hear Amy’s full journey from studio staffer to trusted freelance lead.
Are you a working (or aspiring) production accountant? Reach out to Bishop Porter below to learn more about The PAC—our community of production accounting peers, resources, and support built just for you.
