RTÉ Television Accountant - Sharon Carroll

I am now with RTÉ for nearly three years and I look after the accounts and budgets for Drama, Factual and Religious programmes. The vast majority of my time is spent with Fair City. It's an all year round programme with plenty of costs to be looked after.

All costs are reviewed and accounts are prepared on a monthly basis. After the month-end close off, I analyse the accounts against budget and prepare a rolling forecast of cost till the year end.

This forecast is revised after each month-end and updated accordingly. It's great when the actual accounts agree to the forecast and even better when it agrees to the budget!

With the producer's assistance, I prepare the budget six months in advance for the next series. We have to ensure that we have budgeted for everything that we need. Sometimes, it would be useful if I had a crystal ball to help me look into the future.

If you were a number which one would you be, and why? All six lotto numbers - I need the funds.

If you had a million euro what would you spend it on? A yacht.

Is it true accountants 'cook the books'? We call it creative accounting.

What's the hardest thing about your job? Explaining a budget deficit.

Who would play you in Fair City, and why? Cate Blanchett - she already had her Irish accent honed to perfection