CORAA
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Media & Entertainment Company Audit Checklist

Content cost amortization, advertising revenue recognition, and digital rights licensing tests for a film, broadcast, or streaming content company.

Free · CORAA original — SA-aligned
Updated 28 Jul 2026
Content cost
Amortized to match expected revenue pattern
Ad revenue
Recognised over the airing/display period
Digital rights
Point-in-time vs. over-time per Ind AS 115
Format
Microsoft Word (.docx)
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Your firm — letterhead
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Engagement details
The client and period this document is for.
The financial year-end this engagement covers, e.g. 31 March 2026.
What’s inside

An excerpt from the template.

MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY AUDIT CHECKLIST

Entity: ___ · Year ended: ___

Purpose: test content cost amortization, advertising revenue recognition, and digital rights licensing arrangements for a media/entertainment company.

A. Content cost capitalization and amortization

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About this template

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This template follows the format published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in the AASB Audit Working Paper Templates (June 2023), the authoritative reference for Indian statutory-audit documentation. Fill in your firm’s letterhead and the engagement details on the form above, click Download Word file, and you’ll get a fully formatted .docx ready to use.

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Common questions

FAQs.

Why can't content cost be amortized on a flat straight-line basis?
A film or programme typically earns most of its revenue in an early exhibition window (theatrical, first broadcast) with a long tail of much smaller amounts from syndication and streaming thereafter. A method that matches amortization to the expected pattern of revenue realisation reflects this economic reality; a flat straight-line schedule would overstate profitability early and understate it later, distorting each period's results.
How is barter advertising valued?
Barter/exchange advertising — where ad space is swapped for goods or services rather than cash — is measured at the fair value of the advertising service given, provided the transaction has commercial substance (i.e. it would have been entered into on similar terms with an unrelated party). If fair value cannot be reliably measured or the transaction lacks commercial substance, no revenue is recognised.
When is OTT licensing revenue recognised upfront vs. over the licence term?
This turns on whether the arrangement is a right-to-use licence (the platform gets the content as it exists at a point in time, with no further obligation from the licensor) — recognised at that point in time — or a right-to-access licence (the licensor's content or the licensee's ability to benefit continues to evolve or the licensor undertakes further activities affecting it) — recognised over the licence period. Read the specific licensing agreement's terms rather than assuming one treatment for all OTT deals.
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