Our latest production, Crossing the Line, is our most ambitious yet. Filmed over eight days on location at ICAEW’s London offices and Queens Park Rangers’ Loftus Road stadium, it runs close to an hour and plunges viewers into the high-stakes worlds of fictional football club Scarbridge FC and software company Xoltic. The drama follows two audit teams, tasked with untangling complex accounts, discover a series of red flags that lead them to uncover fraudulent activity at both companies. The film captures the pressures, conflicts, and ethical dilemmas that audit professionals face daily.

You may have seen corporate role-play videos before — but nothing like this. These are cinema-quality training films, drawn from real-life scenarios, starring established TV and film actors, and crafted to meet highly specific training needs.

Previous films in this series has been used in training sessions delivered by hundreds of firms — including EY, PwC, KPMG and Deloitte — training more than 60,000 employees worldwide. To date, they’ve been translated into 17 languages.

The Challenge

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) set out to create a training tool that would go beyond lectures and manuals. They wanted to immerse auditors in real-world dilemmas while maintaining technical accuracy. The resource also had to be flexible enough for firms of all sizes, and adaptable for international use.

Our Approach

To meet this challenge, we worked with ICAEW to develop a dual-narrative structure, contrasting the fast-growth culture of a tech company with the unique pressures of professional sport. This allowed us to explore different incentives and behaviours while highlighting the universal nature of ethical judgement.

Authenticity was paramount. We worked with ICAEW’s expert advisors to ensure accuracy, filmed on real locations, and cast professional actors including William Ellis and Priya Davdra (EastEnders), Tim Plester (Game of Thrones, After Life), and Sacharissa Claxton (Silo). Their performances brought credibility and dramatic weight, helping the story resonate with audiences.

Just as important as the drama was the learning design. The film was structured with pause points, facilitator guides, and split chapters, ensuring it could be used flexibly in workshops. Supporting materials referenced characters and storylines directly, enabling interactive, discussion-driven training.

Impact

Crossing the Line has been adopted across UK audit firms as a core ethics training resource, with strong interest internationally. By blending compelling storytelling with professional insight, the film has sparked debate, reflection and a renewed focus on audit quality.

Would you like to discuss a training drama for your team? Get in touch.

Watch the trailer for Crossing the Line below.