using the CPA way make an:
- Analysis for the financial accounting issues (eg. Provide the relevant GAAP criteria and support the analysis with case facts)
- Recommendation based on GAAP supported/ case specific analysis
- Exhibit that adjusts the relevant Financial Statement figures based on your recommendation
- Outline any differences between IFRS + ASPE for the issues discussed in your case AND discuss if the analysis would be the same or different under the other framework (eg - if your case analysis used ASPE, what would the IFRS GAAP differences, if any, AND would the analysis be the same or different under IFRS)
Case:
Streaming Content Library
The company licenses rights to stream TV shows, movies, and original content to members for unlimited viewing. These licenses are for a fixed fee and specify license "windows" (time periods in which the content may be shown) that generally range from six months to five years. Payment terms may extend over the license window, or may require more payments, as is typically the case for original content.
The company capitalizes the fee per title and records a corresponding liability when the license period begins, the cost of the title is known, and the title is accepted and available for streaming. For example:
Current Content Library xxx
Content Liability or Cash xxx
The portion available for streaming within one year is recognized as "Current content library" and the remaining portion as "Noncurrent content library." If the cost per title cannot be reasonably estimated, the license fee is not capitalized and costs are expensed as payments are made. However, this does not occur often.
The value of the streaming content library is broken down as follows (000's):
Current content library, net $1,049,782
Noncurrent content library, net 1,286,417
Total content library $2,336,199
DVD content $ 350,430
Streaming content 1,985,769
Total content library $2,336,199
Under the most likely scenario, future cash flows have been estimated at year end for the streaming content as follows ($000's):
1 2 3 Total
1,687,904 397,154 297,865 2,382,923
However, if competition escalates and new Internet streaming mediums develop, future cash flows may be much lower ($000's):
1 2 3 Total
1,350,323 317,723 238,292 1,906,338
Management estimates that the most likely scenario will occur with an 80% probability and the pessimistic scenario will occur with a 20% probability.