FCS — Final Cost Statement

The Final Cost Statement (FCS) is the final-stage accounting document for a Section 481 — the Irish scripted tax credit production. Prepared by an external chartered accountancy firm engaged for the purpose (see S481 final claim — engaging an external accountancy firm) and submitted to Revenue — the Irish tax authority along with the S481 final claim.

What the FCS contains

• Final actual cost of production, line by line
• Reconciliation against the original budget
• Identification of qualifying Irish creative spend
• Tax-credit calculation
• Supporting schedules (cast, crew, suppliers, soft-money receipts)

Lifecycle

Budget          → through prep
Cost report     → published periodically through production
                  (latest one is the running cost)
Cost report     → published periodically through post
Wrap pack       → at end of post
Final Cost      → prepared by external firm at the end
Statement (FCS)   of the production lifecycle
S481 final      → filed with Revenue, FCS as the basis
claim

Who prepares it

External chartered accountancy firm — typically the same firm engaged for the S481 final claim itself. The producer's in-house Production Accountant is the internal counterpart who keeps the production books day-to-day during the shoot; they hand those books to the external firm at wrap. Distinct functions.

This is not an audit. The firm is preparing the accounts and filing the claim. Independence-from-management considerations don't apply.

In Togra

Producers publish cost reports through the production via /cost-report-publish.php. The FCS itself is the work product of the external firm. Togra's /engagement.php workspace gives the firm + producer a shared view of the engagement state — from commissioned through to filed with Revenue.

Related Tab Z

For S481 productions over the skills-development threshold, the FCS is accompanied by the Tab Z skills-breakdown table — see Skills Development Plan (Tab F).