Cost report

The cost report is the production's running financial statement — issued periodically (typically every two weeks during production, monthly in post) showing actual spend to date against the budget. The Production Accountant owns it. The producer, the financiers, the Completion bond guarantor and (Section 481 — the Irish scripted tax credit productions) Revenue all rely on it.

What a cost report contains

• Spend by budget line, actuals to date
• Variance from budget per line (over / under / on)
• Forecast to complete per line
• Cashflow position (drawdowns received vs spend committed)
• Notes on significant variances + corrective action

Publishing cycle

The Completion bond often requires monthly reports at minimum; lateness can trigger contractual consequences.

Who reads it

• Producer — operational decisions
• Financiers — drawdown release decisions
• Bond guarantor — takeover-risk decisions
• Sales agent / distributor — sometimes, for finance-flow projections
• External filing firm — at wrap, as the basis for the FCS — Final Cost Statement and the S481 final claim

Publish vs internal

A cost report is published when it's distributed to the financier + bond audience. This is a formal moment in the production lifecycle, with an audit trail.

In Togra

/cost-report.php per project drafts the report; /cost-report-publish.php publishes it (with email distribution to the recipient list + audit log). The Production Accountant hub at /production-accountant-hub.php shows the age of the last published cost report per project across the slate.