Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Accomplishments
Certification
Hobbies and Interests
Languages
Timeline

John Mares

Summary

Professional accountant with robust experience in production environments, specializing in financial management, cost control, and budget analysis. Known for collaborating effectively with teams to meet evolving needs and deliver within tight time constraints. Skilled in financial reporting, variance analysis, and accounting software. Valued for reliability, efficiency, adaptability, and a results-driven mindset.

Overview

10
10
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Post Production Accountant

Retrouville Inc. ("Honey Bunch")
03.2025 - 05.2025
  • Played an instrumental role in preparing year-end financial statements for executive review.
  • Provided journal entries and performed accounting on accrual basis.
  • Maintained integrity of general ledger and chart of accounts.

Production Accountant

Spin Master Ltd. ("Unicorn Academy S2")
09.2024 - 02.2025
  • Using Smart Accounting and SAP to reconcile monthly bank entries, Tax Credit and misc. accruals, NECC.
  • Managed payroll administration, ensuring accurate calculations and timely disbursement of wages to cast members.
  • Enhanced financial reporting accuracy with meticulous data entry and reconciliation tasks.
  • Implemented effective internal controls to safeguard company assets and mitigate potential risks.
  • Increased financial transparency, providing timely and accurate reports to stakeholders.
  • Optimized and created cash flow management to ensure timely payments and minimize outstanding balances.

Staff and Payroll Accountant

1 Hotel Toronto
06.2024 - 09.2024
  • Ensured accurate and timely payments for all employees, managing bi-weekly payroll cycles using ADP Workforce Now software.
  • Streamlined daily labour report processes by implementing efficient automation tools like excel macros, VBA and templates linking to other sheets. This reduced the time it took from 3 hours down to 15 minutes.
  • Reduced payroll discrepancies by conducting thorough weekly audits of payroll accounts, identifying and rectifying changes swiftly.
  • Facilitated vendor and accounts payable bank payments on a weekly basis.
  • Maintained accruals between InfoGenesis, SUN Systems, AgyleSys, RMS Cloud and other Hotel Management Systems.

Production Accountant

BDB Productions Inc. (“Billion Dollar Bluff”) – Neshama / Mar Vista
09.2023 - 11.2023
  • Collaborated with department heads for better budget allocation, cost reporting and resource planning.
  • Streamlined invoice processing for faster vendor payments and improved relationships.
  • Managed weekly payroll administration, ensuring accurate calculations and timely disbursement of wages to cast, and crew members.
  • Compiled general ledger entries on short schedule with 100% accuracy.
  • Set up Cashet and PetroCanada Payment systems for production.

1st Assistant Accountant - Payroll

Cold Harbor Canada Inc. (“Severance Season 2”) – Apple Studios
05.2023 - 08.2023
  • Provided weekly payroll administration to over 250 Unionized Cast and Crew members, ensuring accurate calculations.
  • Detected and corrected mistakes early on and implemented systems to avoid recurring issues.
  • Successfully led a team of junior assistant accountants, providing training and experience.

Post Production Accountant

Motel WFFBU Inc. (“We Forgot To Break Up”)
01.2023 - 04.2023

Production Accountant

Nordic 21 Productions Inc. (“Borje”) – Cream / Warner Brothers
10.2022 - 12.2022
  • Conducted thorough audits of production expenses, identifying areas for cost reduction and optimization.
  • Provided training for junior accountants, enhancing team productivity through skill development initiatives.
  • Optimized cash flow management to ensure timely payments and minimize outstanding balances.
  • Collected and reported monthly expense variances and explanations.
  • Reviewed accounts, resolved coding areas, and tracked recurring expenses for accrual entry.
  • Provided journal entries and performed accounting on accrual basis.
  • Enhanced financial reporting accuracy with meticulous data entry and reconciliation tasks.

Production Accountant

Queen of Bones Film Inc. (“Queen of Bones”) – Appian Way
06.2022 - 09.2022
  • Bank wires, Cost Reporting, Hot Costs, approvals, Union Compliance.

1st Assistant Accountant - Payroll

AccentBoyz 3 Productions Inc. (“Tallboyz Season 3”) – CBC Gems
07.2021 - 11.2021
  • ATL, ACTRA Cast, Extras and DGC/IA/NU Crew weekly payroll cycle using EPOL.

1st Assistant Accountant - Payroll

NB Thrilling Films 6 Inc. (“The Perfect Cheerleader 2”) – Reel One Ent.
05.2021 - 07.2021
  • ACTRA Cast, Extras and DGC/IA/NU Crew weekly payroll cycle using EPOL.

Staff Accountant (Tax)

Fitzpatrick and Co.
09.2020 - 04.2021
  • Full-Cycle Tax Prep, T1, T2 Corporate Notice to Reader and Financial Statement Compilation, T4/T5 Summaries, Bookkeeping, Auditing Large-Scale Annual Fuel Tax Municipal Projects. CEWS in a Remote / Hybrid Setting. Programs used include CaseWare and CCH Tax prep, Sage 300, Xero, QuickBooks Desktop and Online for Accounting and Payroll, AgExpert, and NetSuite.

Production Accountant

Small Fortune Productions Inc. (“A Small Fortune”) – Super Channel
09.2019 - 03.2020
  • Working with the producer to process AP, Bi-Weekly Payroll, Petty Cash, and Budget Cost Reports. Setting up the Bank Account and Budget Line Items into PSL+ accounting software. Running closing reports, reconciling bank account and tracking variance.

1st Assistant Accountant - Above The Line Payroll

Canadian Expedition Productions II Ltd. (“The Terror – Infamy”) – AMC Studios
03.2019 - 05.2019
  • Manually Calculating and Processing Above-The-Line DGC/DGA/WGA Producers/Directors/Writers, UBCP/SAG/AFTRA Actors, and IATSE 891 Crew Weekly Payroll. Began halfway into the series and had to learn the contracts of each person within a few days.

1st Assistant Accountant - Payroll

Bargain Street Productions Ltd. (Various Productions/MOW) – Hallmark
08.2018 - 03.2019
  • Processing over 300 Non-Union, DGC and UBCP Payroll Timecards and Vouchers on a weekly cycle. Obtaining Crew Residency Documents and maintaining an organized filing system. Manually calculating timecards for submission to the Cast and Crew Payroll Company.

Accounting Clerk– Accounts Payable / Petty Cash / P - Card

Siberian Productions Ltd. (“Airborne”) – Walt Disney Studios
06.2018 - 09.2018
  • Data entry extraordinaire - the accounting team had a hard time keeping up with feeding me paper to process.

Accounting Clerk– Accounts Payable /Payroll

Enigma Productions Ltd. (“Bletchley Circle SF” – Season 1) – Omnifilm Studios
02.2018 - 06.2018
  • Auditing, entering purchase orders and matching invoices, document routing, filing, PC, PCard (Cashet) and cheque printing.

Accounting Clerk/Assistant– Accounts Payable

Blue Book 1 Productions Inc. (“Blue Book” – Season 1) – A&E Studios
12.2017 - 01.2018
  • Auditing, entering purchase orders and matching invoices, document routing, filing, and cheque printing.

1st Assistant Accountant– Accounts Payable

SB Productions Inc. (“Somewhere Between” – 10 EPS) – ITV Studios
02.2017 - 07.2017
  • Auditing, budget coding, entering purchase orders and matching invoices, document routing, trial balance inquiry, and cheque printing. Learned how to create cost reports and daily Hot Costs.

Assistant Accountant - Insurance Claim Auditor

Bad Angels Productions Ltd. (“Beyond” – Season 1) – Freeform/Disney
12.2016 - 12.2016

Assistant Accountant– Petty Cash, P-Card

Bad Angels Productions Ltd. (“The Deep” – Pilot) – Freeform/Disney
10.2016 - 11.2016

2nd Assistant Accountant– Petty Cash, P-Card, Per Diem

Stage 49 Inc. (“Dead of Summer” – 10 EPS) – Freeform/Disney
02.2016 - 08.2016

Accounting Clerk – A/P, Payroll

Shadow Lake Films Inc. (“Riverdale” – Pilot) – CBS/Warner
02.2016 - 02.2016

Accounting Clerk – A/P, Petty Cash

GEP Magicians Inc. (“The Magicians” – Season 1) – NBC Universal
01.2016 - 02.2016

Assistant Accountant Clerk - A/P, Petty Cash, Payroll

Crash Pad Production Inc. (“Crash Pad”) – Sony
11.2015 - 12.2015

Accounting Clerk - Payroll, A/P, Petty Cash

GEP Arrangement Inc. (“The Arrangement” - Pilot) – NBC Universal
08.2015 - 11.2015

Accounting Clerk - Payroll

GEP Girlfriends Inc. (“Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce” – Season 2) – NBC Universal
02.2015 - 03.2015

Education

Certificate Program - Accounting

Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON
05.2025
  • Chang School of Cont. Studies
  • 4-Level Certificate Program – Certificate 1 Complete
  • Currently Enrolled in in-depth Accounting for Business Courses to pursue the CPA Designation.

Honors Bachelor of Science - Analytical Mathematics and Environmental Science

University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
01.2011
  • Double Major Degree Program
  • Learned excellent discipline techniques, intuitive problem-solving strategies and to take a natural approach to life's conundrums.
  • Focused my studies on the geosciences, rock formations and mineral structures.
  • Became very skilled in creating Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, detailed lab reports using Word, beautiful math theorems with proofs using LaTeX, and programming GUIs with Python.

Skills

  • Film and TV Production Accounting
  • Smart / PSL / Extreme Reach / SAP / QB
  • Cash flow forecasting / Auditing / Tax Complience
  • Customer Service / Client Communication
  • Management / Team Leadership / Mentorship
  • Payroll / Accounts Receivable & Payable
  • Excel Pro / Word / Teams / Outlook
  • Accruals / Cost Reporting / Budgeting / Reconciliation
  • Environmentally Conscientious

Accomplishments

  • Supervised team of 6 accounting members.
  • Used Microsoft Excel to develop a report template which cut the time it took from 2 hours, down to 15 minutes.
  • Provided training in film and tv payroll processing and software.

Certification

  • Certificate 1 Fundamentals in Accounting 9/24
  • DGC Leadership in the Workplace for Supervisors 9/21
  • CPA Introduction to Accounting 11/20
  • EP Academy Production Accounting 101 & 201 8/20
  • EP Movie Magic Budgeting 8/20
  • Anti-Discrimination, Bullying & Harassment Training Course 6/17
  • SAG-AFTRA Training Course 6/16
  • Payroll Training Course with EP Canada 3/16

Hobbies and Interests

My interests include creating electronic dance music, the outdoors, winter sports, hiking, mountain climbing, personal and spiritual development, mathematics, problem solving, photography, painting, tutoring, and helping people make their lives easier.

Languages

English
Native or Bilingual
Czech
Professional Working
French
Elementary

Timeline

Post Production Accountant - Retrouville Inc. ("Honey Bunch")
03.2025 - 05.2025
Production Accountant - Spin Master Ltd. ("Unicorn Academy S2")
09.2024 - 02.2025
Staff and Payroll Accountant - 1 Hotel Toronto
06.2024 - 09.2024
Production Accountant - BDB Productions Inc. (“Billion Dollar Bluff”) – Neshama / Mar Vista
09.2023 - 11.2023
1st Assistant Accountant - Payroll - Cold Harbor Canada Inc. (“Severance Season 2”) – Apple Studios
05.2023 - 08.2023
Post Production Accountant - Motel WFFBU Inc. (“We Forgot To Break Up”)
01.2023 - 04.2023
Production Accountant - Nordic 21 Productions Inc. (“Borje”) – Cream / Warner Brothers
10.2022 - 12.2022
Production Accountant - Queen of Bones Film Inc. (“Queen of Bones”) – Appian Way
06.2022 - 09.2022
1st Assistant Accountant - Payroll - AccentBoyz 3 Productions Inc. (“Tallboyz Season 3”) – CBC Gems
07.2021 - 11.2021
1st Assistant Accountant - Payroll - NB Thrilling Films 6 Inc. (“The Perfect Cheerleader 2”) – Reel One Ent.
05.2021 - 07.2021
Staff Accountant (Tax) - Fitzpatrick and Co.
09.2020 - 04.2021
Production Accountant - Small Fortune Productions Inc. (“A Small Fortune”) – Super Channel
09.2019 - 03.2020
1st Assistant Accountant - Above The Line Payroll - Canadian Expedition Productions II Ltd. (“The Terror – Infamy”) – AMC Studios
03.2019 - 05.2019
1st Assistant Accountant - Payroll - Bargain Street Productions Ltd. (Various Productions/MOW) – Hallmark
08.2018 - 03.2019
Accounting Clerk– Accounts Payable / Petty Cash / P - Card - Siberian Productions Ltd. (“Airborne”) – Walt Disney Studios
06.2018 - 09.2018
Accounting Clerk– Accounts Payable /Payroll - Enigma Productions Ltd. (“Bletchley Circle SF” – Season 1) – Omnifilm Studios
02.2018 - 06.2018
Accounting Clerk/Assistant– Accounts Payable - Blue Book 1 Productions Inc. (“Blue Book” – Season 1) – A&E Studios
12.2017 - 01.2018
1st Assistant Accountant– Accounts Payable - SB Productions Inc. (“Somewhere Between” – 10 EPS) – ITV Studios
02.2017 - 07.2017
Assistant Accountant - Insurance Claim Auditor - Bad Angels Productions Ltd. (“Beyond” – Season 1) – Freeform/Disney
12.2016 - 12.2016
Assistant Accountant– Petty Cash, P-Card - Bad Angels Productions Ltd. (“The Deep” – Pilot) – Freeform/Disney
10.2016 - 11.2016
2nd Assistant Accountant– Petty Cash, P-Card, Per Diem - Stage 49 Inc. (“Dead of Summer” – 10 EPS) – Freeform/Disney
02.2016 - 08.2016
Accounting Clerk – A/P, Payroll - Shadow Lake Films Inc. (“Riverdale” – Pilot) – CBS/Warner
02.2016 - 02.2016
Accounting Clerk – A/P, Petty Cash - GEP Magicians Inc. (“The Magicians” – Season 1) – NBC Universal
01.2016 - 02.2016
Assistant Accountant Clerk - A/P, Petty Cash, Payroll - Crash Pad Production Inc. (“Crash Pad”) – Sony
11.2015 - 12.2015
Accounting Clerk - Payroll, A/P, Petty Cash - GEP Arrangement Inc. (“The Arrangement” - Pilot) – NBC Universal
08.2015 - 11.2015
Accounting Clerk - Payroll - GEP Girlfriends Inc. (“Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce” – Season 2) – NBC Universal
02.2015 - 03.2015
University of Toronto - Honors Bachelor of Science, Analytical Mathematics and Environmental Science
Toronto Metropolitan University - Certificate Program, Accounting

Similar Profiles

CREATE PROFILE
John Mares