Robert Oberstein was born in the Bronx but grew up in Burbank, not far from the Warner Bros. studios, so his exposure to the entertainment industry came early in life. It’s fitting that in his career as an accountant he ended up serving clients who act, sing, direct and work behind the scenes in film and television production. “Not that I had this hankering to be in the industry. I’ve just been around it all my life,” he said. Oberstein,67, handles individual entertainment clients as opposed to production and post-production companies and other entertainment businesses. Due to that client mix, Oberstein said his role has evolved over the years to where the typical accounting services are just the beginning. “My role has changed so much so I can serve clients better with a vast knowledge of the planning industry,” he said. Oberstein talked with the Business Journal from his Encino office about how he handles creative types, how he’s had to learn foreign tax laws and why he’s never had a run-in with “Hollywood accounting.” Question: What types of clients you have from the entertainment industry? Answer: Over the years it’s been in front of the camera, in back of the camera, a lot of support people, directors, directors of photography, artists, singers, composers – pretty much the gamut of the industry. Accounting and the creative profession seem on opposite ends of the spectrum. How do you personally relate to your clients? That is the stereotype, but I think the planning side of our profession requires us to be somewhat creative to satisfy our client’s needs. I might be a little atypical and have a lot of outside interests. I suppose my pursuits involving hiking Mount Whitney, long distance charity bike rides and marathon running are a little out of character. So I suppose I relate by not being typical. You do both their personal and business financial matters? That’s the idea. Without the personal side and the business side, I can’t really do the job I want to do for them. It’s totally dependent on what they do in their professional life and their personal life. Business managers can get intimately involved with spending decisions. Is that what you mean? Our particular practice does more of what I call after-the-fact. They’ll probably write their (own) checks. (But) we do have an overseas client that we do write their checks and handle all of their U.S. operations. Mostly it’s doing the tax work and the planning work. I really enjoy that. Do you give advice when they are making a big investment, such as in a business? Some have outside advisors – stockbrokers and so forth – and I will help monitor their investments. As a Registered Investment Advisor, I am their advisor on whether those investments are sound, make sense and if they fit their needs for their particular goals. It is typical financial planning. Do your clients live up to the reputation of big spenders? There was a client of mine from 30 years ago who just made a movie. It was his first feature and he had to have this particular car. I won’t mention which one, but it was an expensive car. It was his celebration that he made this feature. The people I deal with are fairly logical and ask for advice. Fortunately they listen to the advice and try not to make those kinds of decisions of buying the Ferrari. I bet your clients are obsessed with privacy. It is very important. In the entertainment industry they have more issues dealing with exposure. We deal with that accordingly and try to keep it as private as possible. So what are the typical challenges with these clients? A big part of what I found with this particular industry is dealing with their cash-flow needs. It is dependent on their particular success and how they look at their retirement and day-to-day life. Their cash flow isn’t as regular as ours is perhaps. How do you deal with that? A lot of the work we do is setting them up for retirement. We want to maximize their retirement contribution based on their cash flow they had that particular year. Sometimes they might have a good cash flow and the next year they might not have as much cash flow. So I am sensitive to that. How did you get into this niche? About 40 years ago, a close client asked me to do their (tax) work and happened to be a screenwriter. It was at the time I was venturing out on my own to establish my own practice. It happened with my very first client and just developed from there. I developed the practice from scratch. How much of your business is entertainment industry clients? Probably about 50 percent. It is fairly significant part of our practice. Have your clients been affected by runaway production? There are some that will travel to the (other) states or Canada. They just go. Some of them would go on a tour and I would have 20 or 30 W-2s and have to deal with the taxation where they have performed in other states. Some of them it does affect by not having the production here, and others just go where the work is. What about when they work on location in foreign countries? I had some clients who were on a (television) series that had to do some guest appearances in another country so there were tax issues dealing with that. For one particular series they wouldn’t allow the performers go in without a certificate of residency, something to prove they are U.S. citizens. So you’ve had to learn tax laws in foreign countries? Yes. That part is occasionally dealing with whether there is a tax treaty with another country. It is not often. I have to deal with their worldwide income that they make and consider that in dealing with U.S. taxation. Hollywood has this reputation for its funny accounting in which a big studio will claim a blockbuster movie doesn’t make any money. Do you see much of that in your practice? I don’t deal directly with it. I deal with the results of what the person in this industry is subjected to, so to speak. As far as dealing with production companies, I get whatever happens after the results. So what are your entertainment viewing habits? All kinds. A lot of the clients are in some shows that I do watch, probably dramas primarily, but not much during tax season. Although with DVRs it doesn’t matter and I can watch at any time. Do you go out of your way to watch the movies or series that your clients are involved with? I do. We don’t talk much about it, but I do. It is interesting to see that. It is more fun than practical. I don’t do it to establish the connection between what I do for them. It is just fun. What’s your all-time favorite movie? I love all sports movies particularly baseball movies. But probably my all-time favorite movie was “Stand By Me.” I was the same age that the actors played in the movie. I guess I kind of lived through their 12-year-old minds. At that age I was somewhat independent as my mother had a full-time job. Did you know the star? No, I never met any of the stars. One last question: Ever wish you were the guy from Ernst & Young with all the Oscar awards in your brief case? Being a movie buff I definitely I would like to be that guy. After watching all of these movies, it would be interesting seeing if the voters got it right. Robert Oberstein Position: Managing Partner Company: RSO Advisors LLP, Encino Born: Bronx, New York, 1947 Education: B.A., business administration, California State University Northridge; M.S. Taxation, Golden Gate University; Registered Investment Advisor Career Turning Point: Becoming a CPA and PFS, personal financial specialist Personal: Married, four adult children Interests: Running – completed six marathons, over 25 half-marathons and two triathlons