For professionals working in film, television, and streaming, the pressure to get payroll right is real. Union rules are complex. Jurisdictions shift. And the cost of mistakes — missed penalties, underreported fringes, or incomplete audits — can be enormous.

The FTV Graduate Program, led by seasoned labor and payroll expert Stephanie Henderson, provides the tools, training, and clarity professionals need to master union compliance and take control of their careers. This is not a theory-based class. It is hands-on, industry-specific training designed for the actual workflows, decisions, and deadlines faced by production finance teams every day.

Learn What Actually Matters on Set and in the Office

The FTV Graduate Program was created with a clear goal: to help working professionals understand, apply, and execute union payroll requirements accurately and efficiently.

Whether you are a payroll accountant processing weekly union runs, a production accountant managing show-wide compliance, or a finance executive overseeing multiple projects, this program offers real-world insights into how the system works and how to apply it effectively.

Participants gain:

• A deeper understanding of IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, DGA, and Teamsters terms and how they affect daily payroll operations
• Practical experience identifying covered compensation, calculating fringe contributions, and applying wage and hour rules across multiple states
• Clear guidance on how to anticipate compliance risks and prepare for union benefit audits

The training focuses on the realities of payroll operations. Learners receive instruction on interpreting meal penalties, handling premium days, calculating overscale pay, and applying union rules across start paperwork, timecards, adjustments, and final wrap.

Training Built by and for Entertainment Payroll Professionals

Stephanie Henderson, the creator of the FTV Graduate Program, brings over 15 years of experience in union payroll administration, audit resolution, and labor consulting. She has worked across all formats, including episodic, features, unscripted, low-budget, and high-budget streaming productions. She understands the challenges finance teams face and built the program to address those exact needs.

Stephanie developed this training to answer the most common and complex questions raised in the field:

• What do I do when work state and hire state do not match?
• How do I determine whether a meal penalty triggers one unit or two?
• What documentation is required in the event of a benefit fund audit?
• When are daily fringe contributions capped, and how are they calculated?

If these types of questions are part of your daily work, the FTV Graduate Program is designed for you.

What the Program Covers

Courses are structured around the key union payroll functions and challenges that working professionals face. Each course combines focused instruction with real examples, forms, and scenarios that reflect active production environments.

Core Courses Include:

• Entertainment Payroll Fundamentals: Curated curriculum intended to provide industry professionals with foundational knowledge like union payroll processing, non-union wage and hour, and entertainment payroll fundamentals.
• IATSE Low Budget Theatrical Agreement: Learn the 2025 terms and conditions of the IATSE Low Budget Theatrical Agreement in this in-depth course.
• 2024 IATSE MOA Course Bundle: This course bundle features courses on the terms and conditions of the 2024 IATSE Basic and Area Standards Agreement, a great course bundle for those recently returning to payroll accounting.
• MPIPHP Employer Benefits: Learn how Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health benefits are calculated, where they're applicable, and how they're remitted and reported.

Each course includes downloadable tools, interactive case studies, and knowledge checks. Optional live Q&A sessions with Stephanie provide further support for complex or unique production scenarios.

Built for Real-Time Learning and Long-Term Growth

The FTV Graduate Program is delivered entirely online and is self-paced. Professionals can move through the material at a schedule that works for them, whether between shows, during slower production periods, or while managing an active job.

This training is ideal for:

• Payroll Accountants who want to improve speed and accuracy across union contracts
• Production Accountants who are responsible for overseeing multi-union compliance and budgeting
• Finance Executives who want standardized payroll processes across their productions
• Payroll Coordinators and Paymasters who interpret contracts and troubleshoot compliance issues on behalf of clients

Graduates consistently report feeling more confident in contract interpretation, better prepared to resolve payroll discrepancies, and more equipped to guide their teams through complex union conditions.

What You Walk Away With

By the end of the program, participants will:

• Understand how to interpret and apply wage and hour terms from key entertainment union agreements
• Be able to identify compliance risks before they become payroll errors
• Know what documentation is required for fringe remittance and audit support
• Have a working set of reference tools, templates, and sample workflows to use on current and future shows

All participants receive a certificate of completion, validating their specialized training in union payroll compliance for film, television, and streaming productions.

Take the Next Step

The FTV Graduate Program is the only training of its kind created specifically for the entertainment industry's payroll and production finance professionals. It offers clarity, structure, and support in one of the most detail-oriented areas of production.

Check out the available courses at the FTV Grad Program.