Financial Management for the Creative Industries
Specialist consultancy for arts and cultural organisations, charities, and purpose-led businesses. Practical systems, clear
Who We Are
Our Expertise
Green Room SM Ltd is a UK-based consultancy supporting arts and cultural organisations, charities, and purpose-led businesses with finance, operations, and strategic leadership. We work with clients at every stage — growing, stabilising, restructuring, or just starting out — to put in place clear, practical systems that strengthen day-to-day delivery and underpin long-term planning.
Founded in 2016, Green Room SM has supported organisations through some of the sector’s most demanding moments — including the pandemic, where we acted as sole finance lead for clients navigating closure and reopening, and supported successful applications to the Arts Council Culture Recovery Fund. We combine the rigour of specialist finance and operations expertise with the warmth and cultural fluency that mission-driven organisations need. We speak the language of both the boardroom and the rehearsal room.
We also bring deep specialist knowledge of the UK’s creative industries tax relief schemes — including Theatre Tax Relief (TTR), Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR), and Film Tax Relief (FTR). Tax relief is a significant and often underused income stream for eligible organisations, and we guide clients through the full process: assessing eligibility, structuring qualifying productions, preparing the underlying financial evidence, and submitting and tracking claims through to receipt. For many of our clients, this has unlocked tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds in recovered relief.
We also bring extensive experience of equality, diversity, and inclusion in the creative sector. Our team has led on access, safeguarding, and inclusion strategy inside cultural organisations, and we support clients to build practice that is genuinely embedded — not bolted on to satisfy a funding requirement. We work fluently across Deaf-led, disability-led, and other underrepresented-led organisations, and offer British Sign Language (BSL) communication for Deaf-led clients who wish to work in their first language.
From bookkeeping, payroll, and management accounts through to fundraising strategy, interim leadership, HR, governance, safeguarding, and organisational development — we offer joined-up support that flexes with your needs. Whether you need a trusted long-term partner or expert help with a single project, we bring clarity, structure, and care to your work.
What We Do
We offer a comprehensive suite of services across four connected areas. Most clients work with us across more than one — that is the point. Finance, operations, fundraising, and governance pull on the same levers, and joined-up advice makes everything stronger.
Finance & Bookkeeping
• Day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll, and pensions
• Management accounts, cash flow forecasting, and budgeting
• Year-end audit preparation and statutory reporting
• Creative industries tax relief claims — Theatre Tax Relief (TTR), Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR), and Film Tax Relief (FTR)
• Gift Aid, VAT, and partial exemption for charities and cultural organisations
• Restricted and unrestricted fund tracking
• Finance systems implementation, migration, and reporting design
Operations & Systems
• Operational reviews and process improvement
• Systems strategy — finance, CRM, HR, and reporting
• Policy and procedure development
• Contract negotiation with venues, freelancers, and partners
• Insurance, risk management, and health & safety frameworks
Fundraising & Income Strategy
• Fundraising strategy and income diversification
• Grant applications — Arts Council England, trusts, foundations, and statutory funders
• Sponsorship and corporate partnership development
• Financial planning and reporting to support funding and investment applications
• Capital project budgeting and forecasting
• Membership and individual giving schemes
Leadership, People & Governance
• Interim finance and executive leadership
• Board liaison, reporting, and governance support
• HR support, recruitment, and onboarding for finance and operational roles
• Safeguarding policy and Child Protection Officer support
• Access and inclusion strategy
• Staff training and team development
Why Green Room SM?
There are plenty of consultancies. Here is what sets us apart.
We know the sector from the inside
Every member of our team has worked inside arts, cultural, or charitable organisations — not just consulted to them. We understand the rhythm of a production year, the realities of project-based income, and the pressures faced by founders, executive directors, and boards.
Joined-up thinking
Most consultancies are specialists in one thing. We bring finance, operations, fundraising, and governance together under one roof, so advice is consistent and decisions in one area do not undermine another.
Practical, not theoretical
We build systems you will actually use, write reports that get read, and offer advice you can act on tomorrow. No jargon, no off-the-shelf templates, and no hand-offs to someone less senior.
Flexible engagement
We work with clients on retainer, on interim contracts, on one-off projects, and on call. Scale the relationship up or down as your needs change.
A trusted partner at the table
We regularly represent client organisations at board level, in funder meetings, and at senior leadership level. We bring clarity to complex conversations and help leaders make confident decisions.
The Founder & Director
Jodie founded Green Room SM Ltd in 2016 and brings over 20 years of finance experience across the creative industries, charities, and commercial businesses. AAT-qualified, with a Master’s-level breadth of practical knowledge built from inside some of the UK’s most demanding finance environments, she is known as a calm, hands-on operator who builds order out of complexity.
Her career spans senior and operational finance roles at the BBC, ITV London, ITN Factual, UKTV, Sony PlayStation, Fremantle Media, the Donmar Warehouse, and Ingresso (a global ticketing distribution startup). She has also served as Head of Finance for an international diamond trading group based in Dubai, managing companies across the UAE and Mauritius, and as Financial Controller for a leading West End producing theatre, where she set up the in-house finance function for a UK charity, two commercial subsidiaries, and a US charity — reducing operating costs by over 30%.
Since founding Green Room SM, Jodie has supported a wide range of creative businesses, including four Arts Council National Portfolio Organisations. During the pandemic she was the sole finance lead for two organisations and supported four clients through successful applications to the Arts Council Culture Recovery Fund. Past and present clients include Rich Mix, London Calling Arts, Deafinitely Theatre, Calamity Films, Complicité, Poet in the City, City of London Sinfonia, Orange Tree Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Detailed Planning, Hoop Nation, Onechocolate, The Sunshine Company, Fold7, and 26 Digital.
Jodie’s expertise covers the full finance picture: board reporting, budgeting, statutory accounts (including Charities SORP / FRS102 / UK GAAP), management reporting and forecasting, charity tax submissions and partial exemption calculations, payroll across UK, US, and UAE jurisdictions, international tax reporting, cash flow and credit management, audit oversight, and the implementation of accountancy, ERP, and CRM systems. She regularly designs custom KPI reporting tools and has advanced Excel and Visual Basic abilities.
She regularly represents client organisations at board and senior leadership meetings, offering strategic financial insight and supporting decision-making at the highest level. She is known for her calm, structured approach and for explaining financial matters in clear, accessible language — making her a trusted partner to finance and non-finance professionals alike.
Frankie George – Associate Director
Frankie brings over 18 years of experience across commercial and subsidised theatre, with deep expertise in executive leadership, finance, operations, HR, fundraising, and production management. She joined Green Room SM in 2026 after more than a decade as Executive Director of Deafinitely Theatre, the UK’s leading Deaf-led theatre company.
At Deafinitely Theatre, Frankie directed organisational strategy, programming, budgets, business planning, fundraising, marketing, and press. She secured over £450,000 in grants, more than £155,000 in Theatre Tax Relief, and over £23,000 in sponsorship across her final three years in the role, and oversaw a portfolio of national main productions, biennial children’s shows, and youth programmes. She also acted as Fire Marshal, Child Protection Officer, and lead on safeguarding, access, and inclusion.
Earlier in her career, Frankie worked as Senior Production Coordinator at The Flying Music Co on the West End run and international tours of Thriller Live, and at the Michael Grandage Company on productions including Privates on Parade, Peter and Alice, The Cripple of Inishmaan, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Henry V. She began her career at the Donmar Warehouse under Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke.
Frankie holds a Master’s in Drama (Theatre Studies) from the University of Kent and is fluent in British Sign Language (BSL Levels 1–3, City Lit). Having spent over a decade inside a Deaf-led organisation, she is delighted to work with Deaf-led clients in BSL where that is their preferred working language, and brings genuine fluency in the access, inclusion, and communication practices that make those partnerships work well.
At Green Room SM, Frankie leads on strategic consultancy, interim leadership, fundraising, creative industries tax relief claims, operations, HR, and governance, bringing practical, grounded experience from inside the rooms where these decisions actually get made. Her track record includes securing over £155,000 in Theatre Tax Relief across a three-year period, and she now supports clients across the wider suite of creative industries tax reliefs.
Finance & Client Services Manager
With over 16 years of experience across finance, operations, and community leadership, Yeliz Akpinar combines precision with people skills to keep everything running smoothly.
Her expertise includes the management of complex budgets, CRM implementation, grant funding, and the coordination of large-scale community programmes. At Newlon Fusion, the community regeneration arm of Newlon Housing Trust, she led on database systems, financial reporting, and grant administration, supporting everything from youth placements to hardship funding. Earlier in her career, she worked in arts management with 476 Players Theatre Company, contributing to the successful delivery of an international touring production.
Yeliz holds a BA in International Relations and Economics, alongside qualifications in business, finance, and community interpreting. She supports our clients with warmth, clarity, and a deep understanding of how cultural and charitable organisations work. Whether she’s helping a theatre migrate its finance systems or preparing a grant report, Yeliz makes the numbers work so creative teams can focus on what they do best.
What We Do
We offer a comprehensive suite of services across four connected areas. Most clients work with us across more than one — that is the point. Finance, operations, fundraising, and governance pull on the same levers, and joined-up advice makes everything stronger.
Finance & Bookkeeping
• Day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll, and pensions
• Management accounts, cash flow forecasting, and budgeting
• Year-end audit preparation and statutory reporting
• Creative industries tax relief claims — Theatre Tax Relief (TTR), Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR), and Film Tax Relief (FTR)
• Gift Aid, VAT, and partial exemption for charities and cultural organisations
• Restricted and unrestricted fund tracking
• Finance systems implementation, migration, and reporting design
Operations & Systems
• Operational reviews and process improvement
• Systems strategy — finance, CRM, HR, and reporting
• Policy and procedure development
• Contract negotiation with venues, freelancers, and partners
• Insurance, risk management, and health & safety frameworks
Fundraising & Income Strategy
• Fundraising strategy and income diversification
• Grant applications — Arts Council England, trusts, foundations, and statutory funders
• Sponsorship and corporate partnership development
• Financial planning and reporting to support funding and investment applications
• Capital project budgeting and forecasting
• Membership and individual giving schemes
Leadership, People & Governance
• Interim finance and executive leadership
• Board liaison, reporting, and governance support
• HR support, recruitment, and onboarding for finance and operational roles
• Safeguarding policy and Child Protection Officer support
• Access and inclusion strategy
• Staff training and team development