Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 175 Is there really financial fraud?

In recent years, with the entry of Internet capital, a large amount of new hot money has poured into the film and television industry, and the competition for IP among major platforms and film and television companies has become increasingly fierce.

After all, compared to original scripts, IP adaptations that have been tested by the market and have their own popularity are more in line with capital needs.

We have to admit that Boss Jia is very forward-looking. In the days when no one paid attention to copyright, he spent money to buy a lot of IPs, which have now become the moat of Leshi.com.

The same is true for several other video platforms. Any novel IP that has a bit of popularity can almost be sold for a good price, ranging from 700,000 to 800,000 yuan, or as much as 2 to 3 million yuan.

Just like those 18th-tier directors and screenwriters who lived off freeloaders in the coal boss era, the past few years since the entry of Internet capital can be regarded as the happiest time for content creators.

Meng Bai sometimes wondered, if he had to wait another two years, why would he bother submitting a script? He could just write a novel directly.

Once a video platform buys the copyright, it naturally has to make use of its value.

In the past, the film and television market only had TV series, and we would worry about backlogs. Now it’s better to just make web series. Anyway, the cost of our own products is low, and it’s not a loss if we can earn back the traffic.

The same is true for Leshi.com, which has been shooting various self-made dramas in the past two years, but the results are mediocre. If there is anything that can be said to be outstanding, it is still the projects that it cooperated with Arclight Films.

As a platform channel, they have to rely on a film and television production company to lead, which is really embarrassing.

And then again, everything depends on one company to provide high-quality content. Not to mention the issue of production, the more critical thing is that the content is controlled by others.

This is indeed the case. Because of his excellent "historical achievements", Liu Jun's voice in the entertainment department of Leshi.com has been increasing in the past two years.

At the same time, he also used this as an excuse to give Arc Light Films a huge discount. From the budget scale to the resource channels to the financial settlement, Arc Light was almost always given priority.

Take profit sharing for example, other companies basically have to pay in installments of six months to a year before the full payment is completed. Only Arclight Pictures paid all the money in three or four months at most.

Previously, because of the relationship between Meng Bai and Gan Wei, and because Boss Jia also favored Arc Light, they only had slight complaints about this internally.

Besides, their achievements are there, so there’s no point in complaining.

But since the beginning of this year, Gan Wei has been resting after giving birth, and Boss Jia has been staying abroad for a long time, so the issue of "over-reliance on a single partner for content production" has been raised.

After many discussions at the Leshi.com board of directors, it was decided to set up a copyright operation center in addition to the self-produced drama department.

On the one hand, it is to make use of the IP that Leshi.com had previously hoarded, and on the other hand, it is also hoped to reduce the influence of Arc Light Films and avoid "big customers bullying the store" in the future.

As a company owner, Meng Bai also understands Leshi.com's approach. He has also been in contact with other platforms and does not want to be tied to Leshi.com alone.

When it comes to business, everyone has different positions and they are all pursuing their own interests.

The only one who felt uncomfortable was Liu Jun. A piece of his "territory" was taken away for no reason. No one would find it easy to accept this.

Unfortunately, no matter how angry he was, he was just a senior employee in Leshi.com. Since the board of directors had made the decision, he could only obey orders.

On the other end of the phone, Liu Jun sighed and said, "Although this is a bit unethical, I really hope that the crappy operations center can mess up a few more projects."

Meng Bai smiled when he heard this. This is why outsiders sometimes think that a company always makes some outrageous moves when facing problems. Because the interests of employees and companies are not always consistent.

"Let them do whatever they want." Liu Jun sighed, and then asked, "By the way, what is the matter that you called me about?"

"Ah? Oh, I almost forgot about it because of you." Meng Bai said, "It's nothing, I just want to ask about the current round of financing of Leshi Films."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard silence on the other end of the line. Then, there was a sound of footsteps and a door being locked.

After a while, Liu Jun finally heard him lower his voice and say, "Is there no one else on your side?"

"No, I'm in my own car." Meng Bai was a little nervous about his "little combo", "What's wrong? Why are you so serious?"

Liu Jun seemed to be a little confused. He hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Regarding this round of financing, I have heard some bad news recently."

"how to say?"

"I can't really say what the specific situation is, but it's rumored that the rapid financing since last year seems to be due to some problems with the group's financial situation."

Although he had made similar guesses before, he still subconsciously frowned when he heard Liu Jun say this.

"Financial problems? There can't be financial fraud, right?" "Haha, Brother Meng, for listed companies like us, the question is not whether there is fraud, but who didn't commit fraud."

Liu Jun smiled and continued, "We are called executives, but we are just high-paid workers. We cannot know the real situation. But it is true that the group has funding problems. Didn't you notice that half of the budget for this project was paid for by advertising?"

The total cost of "Forensic Qin Ming" was 40 million, of which Leshi.com was responsible for 20 million.

In previous projects, half of the budget was directly transferred to the crew’s account. But this time, Leshi.com only gave 10 million yuan directly, and the other 10 million yuan was for product placement fees for “LeTV Phone” and “LeTV TV”.

The reason given by Leshi.com is that it has the foundation of the previous works, and the popularity of "Forensic Qin Ming" is quite high. In addition, the story background is also a modern city, so it is very suitable for implantation.

Meng Bai also noticed this at the time, but he didn't think much about it. As a producer, as long as the funds are in place, it's fine. As for product placement, there are no urban dramas without product placements nowadays, and this can be regarded as a reflection of the commercial value of the "Green Ivy Series".

But from what Liu Jun said, it seems that Leshi.com had some problems with its capital chain, so it had to use other methods to supplement it.

"Most of what I've heard are just speculations, so it's hard to say what the specific situation is. Regarding financing, I can only say that you'd better consider it carefully. Including the previous round of investment, nothing can be said for sure until the money is secured."

As an executive of Leshi.com, there are many things that Liu Jun is not comfortable saying, so he can only give some implicit suggestions.

Meng Bai naturally understood what he meant and said sincerely, "Thank you, Brother Liu, I understand. When you finish filming this drama and return to Beijing, I will make arrangements for you."

"Haha, we have been working together for such a long time, there is no need to thank each other." Liu Jun laughed and said, "Besides, who knows, in two years, I may have to ask you for a living."

"That's no problem. We at Arc Light are in need of a general manager." Meng Bai said with a smile, "Brother Liu, if you come, you can take up the position right away."

"General Manager, there's no need. Just leave some food for me, your elder brother."

After chatting for a few more words, the two hung up the phone.

Putting down the phone, Meng Bai's smile faded and he frowned and began to think.

Now it seems that my suspicion of Leshi.com was not wrong. And from what Liu Jun said, it seems that they have quite a few problems.

After thinking about it, he took out his cell phone and called Chen Jing, asking her if she had any classmates or friends who worked in similar auditing or investment industries and could inquire about the specific situation of Leshi.com.

"Is there something wrong with Leshi.com's financial situation?" Chen Jing said, "No wonder. I've been reading their annual report and financial statements recently, and I always feel that something is wrong. The profit attributable to the parent company is growing, but the tax payment is negative..."

"Wait, can taxes be negative?" Meng Bai asked curiously.

Chen Jing gave her "novice" boss some popular science. To put it simply, when the company was settling its taxes, it was found that the actual profit for the whole year was not high and there were other items that could be offset, which resulted in the final tax being paid too much, and thus becoming negative.

"It's equivalent to prepayment, and the extra amount will be automatically offset when you pay taxes in the second year." Chen Jing said, "This situation usually occurs in small companies or companies with poor operating conditions, but Leshi.com's annual financial report data is very good, so I have always been curious about how it does it."

Financial statements and operating conditions can be disguised, but when it comes to taxes, you have to pay what you pay, and the tax department will not joke with you.

This means that the financial situation disclosed by Leshi.com is indeed problematic, but the extent of the problem is unknown.

Meng Bai thought to himself that it seemed he had to hurry up and get back the money he had invested previously.

I remember Qin Lan said last time that someone seemed to have asked about the share transfer, and I will ask in detail in the next two days.

If the prices are similar, it’s better to sell it as soon as possible.

After thinking about the matter of Leshi.com, Meng Bai thought about the "copyright operation" issue that Liu Jun mentioned just now.

By the way, should ArcLight Pictures also consider buying back some IP copyrights?

There is no need to think about those big IPs. Even if they are not bought by others, they are all priced sky-high.

If you really want to buy one, you can either rely on your luck to find a bargain, or look for some small projects with high cost performance, which can also make up for the defect of the overly single subject matter of Arclight film and television.

However, I don't know much about this area, so I need to find someone to understand the situation first, so as to avoid jumping in and eating a mouthful of sand.

It just so happens that Zhu Zhenhua's "The Best of Us" has also recently started filming at Landao. This guy has taken over many IP adaptations and has rich experience. It would be a good idea to ask him about it.

By the way, I can also go and see Boss Li. No, I can go and see the situation of the investment project as an investor.

(End of this chapter)